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Malaysia-headquartered crypto exchange Luno has appointed Aaron Tang as its APAC general manager, effective 15 May 2023, according to a statement this week.
One of Luno's founding team, Tang joined the company in 2018 as its marketing and community lead for Malaysia, and has since climbed the ranks there, his most recent role being country manager for Malaysia. He will be tasked with the strategic overview of Luno’s market operations at the regional level, in addition to growing business in core markets across the APAC region.
Tang takes over from David Low, who has also been with Luno since its inception five years ago. Low said he will be taking a career break.
At the same time, Luno appointed Scarlett Chai to take over as the new Country Manager for Luno Malaysia effective immediately. Chai previously serves as Luno's marketing manager since July 2021.
Tough times
Luno is one of four digital asset exchanges in the country that holds a Recognized Market Operator license from Securities Commission Malaysia. But it hasn't fared too well of late, with parent company DCG also facing turmoil since the collapse of FTX.
Luno announced a slew of layoffs in January 2023, cutting its global headcount by 35%. At the time, co-founder and CEO Marcus Swanepoel – who has since stepped down – said that it had been an "incredibly tough year" for the crypto markets which has affected Luno's "overall growth and revenue numbers."
Swanepoel stepped down as CEO last month, and was succeeded by James Lanigan who was formerly the chief operating officer.
The exchange reportedly has around 60 employees, and over 800,000 Malaysian users on the platform, and stores more than RM1.2 billion (US$270 million) in value on behalf of its customers across nine approved digital assets.
Singapore withdrawal
Earlier this month, Luno said it would be exiting Singapore and withdrawing its license despite being granted in-principle approval last year.
Related: DCG's Luno Exits Singapore, Withdraws License Application
Luno said the decision came from a "regular evaluation of our global strategy and presence"
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