XRP Price Gains as Ripple Bags Major Partnership in Africa

XRP price was up 1.99% to reach $2.48 on Tuesday after the recent expansion of Ripple in Africa. The blockchain company has also become Absa Bank’s partner, which is one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa to launch institutional grade digital asset custody services in the country.

About Ripple’s New Partnership in Africa

The partnership is the first major custody deal that Ripple has had in Africa and will further the expansion of its early market footprint. The deal will enable Absa to adopt the enterprise-level technology provided by Ripple in storing and managing tokenized assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a regulatory and secure system.

Reece Merrick, Middle East and Africa Managing Director, Ripple, told me that partnership was a major stride. “Africa is experiencing a major shift in how value is stored and exchanged, and our partnership with Absa underscores Ripple’s commitment to unlocking the potential of digital assets on the continent,” he stated.

Merrick described Absa as “one of the most respected and innovative banks in Africa.” He added that Ripple is proud to back its digital asset ambitions with “the most secure and compliant custody infrastructure on the market.”

The shift by Absa into the digital asset custody area is against a backdrop of an increasing need by institutional investors in financial services based on blockchain technology. As regulatory transparency increases in sections of the continent, banks and fintech companies are considering new ways of ensuring safe storage, transfer of settlement and value across borders.

Absa Executive Comments

Robyn Lawson, Head of Digital Product, Custody at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, stated that the bank is trying to satisfy the increasing needs of its clients in regard to digital assets solutions. “As we continue to innovate and respond to the evolving financial ecosystem, we recognize the importance of providing our customers with secure, compliant, and robust custody solutions for their digital assets,” Lawson said.

She added that Ripple’s platform enables Absa to “deliver the next generation of financial infrastructure” while maintaining top-tier security and operational standards. The presence of Ripple in Africa has been growing consistently in 2025. The company declared its partnership with Chipper Cash to enable crypto-powered payments earlier this year and that its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, would be launched in the select African markets.

The 2025 New Value Report by the company has been able to establish that in the Middle East and Africa, almost two-thirds (64%), finance leaders believe that quicker settlement times are the most important factor to implement blockchain-based payment systems. The infrastructure Ripple provides to facilitate compliant asset movement and custody of financial institutions is tailored to address those requirements.

Having achieved a decade of experience in the innovation of digital assets and had over 60 regulatory licenses across the world, Ripple remains a global offering of secure infrastructure to financial institutions that were trying to adopt blockchain.

XRP Price Update

The XRP price is witnessing a rebound today, however, since the crypto market bloodbath on Friday, things have not been the same as earlier. XRP has lost over 18% in the 7-day timeframe and now analysts are looking at a breakout above the $2.5 level.

In case of successful breakout, XRP price could reclaim the psychologically critical level of $3. Moreover, if it sustains momentum above this zone, it could see further gains and could even reach a new all-time high. However, on the downside, if it breaks down below $2.4, it could see a downtrend to the $2 level.

Read More: Ripple Price News: XRP fell 5.0% Near $2.40; Are You Holding?