Luno, Malaysia’s leading regulated digital asset exchange (DAX), celebrated its 10th anniversary with a panel discussion sharing unique insights into the ever-evolving cryptocurrency landscape and highlighting a decade of remarkable achievements for the industry.
Luno’s growth story has recently surpassed over 12 million customers globally, with over 840,000 Malaysians currently signed up to Luno. “In Malaysia, we have made significant strides in the market since re-launching in 2019. We have processed more than 73 million transactions in BTC (Bitcoin), which makes up for around 18% of total transactions processed globally in the past decade – this makes Malaysia one of our fastest-growing markets, and we’re definitely excited for what’s to come over the next 10 years,” stated Aaron Tang, General Manager at Luno APAC.
“Celebrating 10 years in the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies is a significant milestone. Our journey has been marked by the addition of numerous digital assets to our platform, made capable through our close collaboration with Malaysian regulators. We’re proud to be the largest and most trusted DAX in Malaysia, and will continue supporting all Malaysians throughout their crypto investment journey,” said Luno Malaysia Country Manager Scarlett Chai.
The panel discussion featured key players in the fintech and cryptocurrency landscape in Malaysia, including Scarlett Chai, Country Manager at Luno Malaysia; Chan Zhong Yang, Head of Research at CoinGecko, one of the largest global crypto data aggregators; and Liew Ooi Hann, Founder and Director at Jirnexu, Asia’s only full stack fintech solutions provider. The session was moderated by Michelle Chin, Founder at Her Duit, a women-focused personal finance platform.
Regulations and industry confidence go hand-in-hand
Reflecting on the past 10 years, Chai spoke on how a well-regulated digital assets landscape contributes to industry stability and growth, as well as investor confidence.
“It is important for us to collaborate with regulators to ensure that compliance measures do not inhibit innovation. We have a great working relationship with partners like the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in building customer trust and confidence, so that they may invest with the highest security standards.”
“Although we’re currently under a tough macro-economic climate, we have still managed to grow our customer base. We believe that this points to positive shifts in investor mindsets, as they adopt a longer-term perspective towards crypto investment. Regardless of market conditions, we remain committed to proactively supporting the Malaysian digital economy agenda through our education and awareness initiatives, and in prioritising investor safety and customer experience above all else”, Chai added.
Lessons for the Malaysian digital assets landscape
The panel also explored the macro impact of global events on the crypto landscape, and how certain learnings can be adapted and adopted by digital assets industry stakeholders in Malaysia. According to Chan, “Shifts in the global crypto space will have knock-on effects on local markets. Some are opportunities for growth, while others may bring new challenges. As the industry is still nascent, it’s important for stakeholders to be agile in reacting to new global developments, while also taking into account the local Malaysian context. Ultimately, growing the local industry has to be a concerted effort between industry players as well as policymakers.”
Looking into what’s to come in the next 10 years
On the future of Malaysia’s digital assets landscape, “Blockchain integration with AI (artificial intelligence) is the next disruption to look out for, and these combined technologies can revolutionise anything from the supply chain to finance sector. The positioning of crypto within the realm of traditional finance has also created shifts in investor behaviour, and stakeholder collaboration is necessary in continuously evolving the digital assets landscape, and set the stage for mainstream acceptance and integration of crypto into everyday life”, said Liew.
