Ripple Boosts African Presence with Absa Bank Partnership Deal

Key Points

• Ripple partners with Absa Bank to offer digital asset custody services in South Africa.
• This collaboration is part of Ripple’s strategic initiatives to expand its presence in Africa by 2025.

Ripple, a digital asset infrastructure provider, revealed a partnership with Absa Bank on October 15. The partnership aims to deliver digital asset custody services in South Africa.

This strategic move is part of Ripple’s broader plan to extend its reach across the African continent by 2025.

Collaboration Details

Absa Bank, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, will be working with Ripple. Their focus is on providing institutional-grade storage for tokenized assets and cryptocurrencies.

As per the official announcement, the objective is to establish a secure foundation for the burgeoning digital asset market in the region. Reece Merrick, Ripple’s Managing Director for the region, stated their goal is to unlock the potential of digital assets on the continent.

Ripple’s Expansion in Africa

The Absa Bank partnership is not Ripple’s first venture in Africa this year. In March, Ripple collaborated with African payments provider Chipper Cash to enhance cross-border remittances.

In September, Ripple introduced its RLUSD stablecoin in Africa through partners such as VALR, Africa’s largest crypto exchange, and payments company Yellow Card.

These partnerships align with positive regulatory developments in the region. For example, Kenya’s new digital assets bill is aiming to set a clear legal framework for virtual asset service providers, potentially encouraging wider adoption.

The news of Ripple’s systematic expansion comes as its associated asset, XRP, is navigating a tense market structure. The asset displays a bearish bias on lower timeframes, with key support identified between $2.4516 and $2.4491. This support area is strengthened by order book data from the Binance Futures Exchange, showing a significant buy wall of over $36 million at the $2.40 price level.

However, the asset faces major resistance from a sell wall of over $34 million positioned at $2.60. The fundamental developments in Africa contrast with the asset’s recent price action. Other market signals, like the CBOE’s confirmation of an XRP ETF, indicate growing institutional interest.

The community’s reaction to the partnership has been mixed. While some users view it as a positive step for adoption in Africa, others are skeptical about its immediate impact on the XRP asset. The announcement did not provide a launch timeline for Absa’s custody service or specify which digital assets would be supported initially.