Based on recent reports, South Africa’s Absa has emerged as the pioneer African banking institution to hold bitcoin in custody.
As reported initially by Bloomberg on Friday, the institution situated in Johannesburg will cater to institutional customers, primarily by storing bitcoin, though additional digital currencies will also be included in the offering.
Financial institutions across the globe are progressively incorporating or delivering bitcoin-centric products and services. Several European and American banks have initiated crypto offerings by holding assets on behalf of institutions.
Rob Downes, who leads digital assets within the corporate and investment banking division at Absa, was cited stating that while bitcoin is the primary asset the institution will safeguard, additional ones will come next.
Absa did not immediately provide answers to inquiries sent by Bitcoin Magazine.
The African continent features a substantial base of crypto natives, with analytics companies regularly pointing out high rates of uptake, especially within nations where local fiat currencies have experienced severe devaluation.
According to the 2025 report by Chainalysis, South Africa recorded $36.0 billion in on-chain volume, securing the second position across Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria alone took in $92.1 billion, reaching almost triple the volume of runner-up South Africa.
On the worldwide ranking, South Africa placed 30th regarding digital asset adoption.
The nature of its market differs from that of Nigeria: it leans more toward institutions, where regulatory transparency has led to the approval of hundreds of virtual asset service provider licenses, pulling in professional investors and traditional financial players.
Back in 2022, BNY Mellon became the initial prominent American bank to deliver digital asset safekeeping solutions. Furthermore, during this month, the German financial giant Deutsche Bank announced plans to launch a bitcoin custody offering aimed at European corporate and institutional accounts later in 2026.
Originally published at https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/absa-first-african-bank-to-custody-bitcoin.
