Absa Becomes First African Bank to Offer Digital-Asset Custody

Absa Group Ltd., a South African bank, has become the first bank in Africa to offer digital-asset custody. This service provides safekeeping, administration, and transfer of digital assets for institutional clients in South Africa.

The platform currently supports Bitcoin, the XRP Ledger, Ethereum, and USDC, with plans to add more assets. Absa's head of digital assets, Rob Downes, noted that 'Bitcoin is the predominant asset in custody.'

Absa aims to expand support to additional assets over time and has regulatory clearance in South Africa.

The company plans to extend this service to other client segments in South Africa in due course and work on bringing it to other African presence countries with required regulatory approvals. The global custody market is forecasted to reach $953.5 billion by 2026, with potential expansion to $4.38 trillion by 2033.