Absa Becomes Africa's First Bank to Offer Crypto Custody Services

Absa Group Ltd., a Johannesburg-headquartered lender, has become the first bank in Africa to offer institutional digital-asset custody services. The service is available in South Africa for institutional clients, including asset managers, corporates, and non-bank financial institutions. This move gives Absa a foothold in the continent's growing digital-asset economy, with the bank considering extending the custody service to other African markets where it operates, subject to regulatory approvals.

The bank secured regulatory approval in South Africa before introducing the service, which currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Ledger, and the USDC stablecoin, with more assets potentially being added as institutional demand develops. According to the South African Reserve Bank, crypto assets held by Luno, VALR, and Ovex more than doubled to R25.3 billion, approximately $1.5 billion, at the end of 2024 from less than R10 billion at the beginning of 2023.

Absa plans to widen access to the custody product beyond its initial institutional customer base in South Africa and pursue opportunities to introduce the service in other African countries where the banking group operates. The bank's expansion plans are subject to regulatory approvals.