What is LUNO?

LUNO (formerly BitX) is a Bitcoin company headquartered in London with operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and 35 other European countries

Luno facilitates Bitcoin storage and transactions such as buying, selling and paying through their Bitcoin wallet services. They also operate exchanges between fiat money and bitcoin.
It's actually a whole lot easier than you think.

While cryptocurrencies are the latest craze, with everyone seemingly getting in on the action, many have yet to dive into purchasing a cryptocurrency due to not knowing which coins to buy or even how.


So we're going to tell you.


First, the easiest way to fill your virtual wallet with bitcoin is by using a reliable local exchange site. Many recommend Luno.com, which allows you to buy, store and sell in one place:

Depositing money

Luno only levies a fee for local currency deposits in cases where we incur costs to receive your funds. Full details are here.

Withdrawing money

A small fee may apply when you withdraw local currency from Luno to your bank account. This admin fee is levied by our financial partners. 


Sending and receiving Bitcoin

Luno levies a nominal fee for sending and receiving Bitcoin transactions, regardless of the transaction size. 

Buy or sell Bitcoin

When you use the Instant buy or sell feature on the website or mobile application, we will show you the total price you will pay for the transaction, and no extra fees will be levied.

Too easy.
But buying Ethereum, however, is another story.
It requires the use of other exchanges like Poloniex, Kraken, and ShapeShift and can only be bought with bitcoin, explains MyBroadband:
Once you have created your account on the cryptocurrency exchange, you need to transfer your Bitcoin from Luno to the exchange.
This can be done by selecting the “deposit” option from the exchange’s dashboard and choosing the Bitcoin (BTC) option. Make sure not to select a different coin for a deposit, like Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Selecting deposit on Bitcoin will display an address. You will need to send your Bitcoin from your Luno account to this address.
Ensure that you copy and paste the correct exchange deposit address into Luno before sending your Bitcoin. Once you hit send, the Bitcoin may take several hours to send.
Once your Bitcoin is in your exchange account, select the BTC/ETH trading pair to buy Ethereum.
Once you select "buy," your Ethereum is stored in your exchange account.

What's that, you ask? An exchange account? Well, it's kind of like a virtual wallet:
Many South Africans use Luno to store their Bitcoin, which means the company controls your wallet and your private key.
More advanced methods of holding your Bitcoin include storing it in an online wallet where you control your private key, or on a hardware wallet where you control the physical wallet and key.
Ethereum storage functions in a similar manner, and users can move it from their exchange account to an individual wallet.
MyEtherWallet is a popular choice to store Ethereum, as you retain control of your private key, and bitcoin holders can use a service like GreenAddress.
And the most secure way to store these currencies?
Download and run a node on each respective blockchain, using your own hardware. This can be complex for newcomers, however.
Yes, the jargon might be very off-putting, but at the end of the day, research will be your best friend when it comes to buying, storing and using one cryptocurrency or another.

Good luck out there.