Absa Group has become the first African bank to offer digital asset custody as it moves into a market that has grown rapidly in South Africa, with crypto assets held by the country’s three largest licensed providers reaching about $1.5 billion.
The Johannesburg based lender will provide institutional clients in South Africa, including asset managers, non bank financial institutions and corporates, with services for the secure storage, administration and transfer of digital assets.
Rob Downes, head of digital assets at Absa’s corporate and investment banking unit, said the bank plans to extend the service to more clients and other African markets, subject to regulatory approval.
‘We expect to extend this to other client segments in South Africa in due course, and are actively working on bringing the solution to some of our other African presence countries in line with regulatory approvals required,’ Downes said.
The move comes as institutional interest in digital assets expands and financial institutions seek regulated ways to hold and transfer cryptocurrencies. The South African Reserve Bank estimates that crypto assets held by the country’s three largest licensed service providers, Luno, VALR and Ovex, more than doubled to 25.3 billion rand, or about $1.5 billion, by the end of 2024 from less than 10 billion rand at the start of 2023.
The broader global digital asset custody market is also expanding. It is estimated at about $953.5 billion in 2026 and could reach $4.38 trillion by 2033, according to the figures provided.
For Absa, the custody service creates a new channel into a growing digital asset market while allowing institutional clients to access crypto services through a regulated banking platform.
The bank’s planned expansion into other African markets will depend on regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction.