Absa launches digital asset custody service, becoming the first bank in Africa to offer such services

According to Bloomberg, South African banking group Absa Group has launched digital asset custody services for local institutional clients, becoming the first bank in Africa to provide such services. The service has been approved by South African regulators and currently supports Bitcoin, XRP Ledger, Ethereum and USDC, and provides asset custody, management and transfer services. Absa plans to support more crypto assets in the future and expand to other customer groups in South Africa and some other African markets after obtaining regulatory approval. Absa officials previously disclosed that its digital asset custody solution was developed in cooperation with Ripple.