Absa Breaks Ground as First African Bank to Offer Crypto Custody

Absa Group has made history by becoming the first bank in Africa to offer digital-asset custody. The service, which currently supports Bitcoin, XRP Ledger, Ethereum, and USDC, will provide safekeeping, administration, and transfer services for institutional clients such as asset managers, non-bank financial institutions, and corporates.

Absa received approval from South African regulators to offer the service, which is expected to tap into a local market estimated at about $1.5 billion. Rob Downes, head of digital assets at Absa's corporate and investment banking unit, stated that Bitcoin is currently the predominant asset in custody so far.

The bank is also working with clients to add support for other crypto assets they would like held in South Africa. According to the South African Reserve Bank, crypto assets held by the country's three biggest licensed providers more than doubled to R25.3 billion ($1.5 billion) by the end of 2024.