Nedbank Partners with Crypto.com to Pioneer Blockchain Financial Infrastructure Across Africa

Nedbank has announced a strategic partnership with Crypto.com aimed at transforming Africa’s financial ecosystem through blockchain technology. The collaboration will focus on developing advanced payment, settlement, and liquidity solutions across the continent, aligning traditional banking with regulated digital finance.

By leveraging Crypto.com’s platform, Nedbank seeks to enhance transparency, efficiency, and resilience in cross-border transactions, addressing long-standing challenges in the African financial system.

Bridging traditional banking and blockchain

Africa’s reliance on legacy payment systems has created high transaction costs, currency volatility, and exposure to geopolitical risks. This partnership enables Nedbank to introduce a compliant, blockchain-based infrastructure that integrates seamlessly with conventional banking.

Using Crypto.com’s blockchain settlement technology, clients will be able to convert South African rand to digital US dollars in real time, access digital liquidity for trade and treasury operations, and benefit from daily net settlements. Retail and commercial clients, including SMEs and large corporations, will gain tools to transact efficiently without reliance on traditional international intermediaries. The phased rollout will begin with individual clients and expand to corporate entities over the next twelve months.

Driving financial innovation and continental integration

This initiative reflects Nedbank’s commitment to financial innovation and deeper continental integration. By connecting banks, businesses, and regulated crypto service providers, the project aims to build a resilient African payment backbone that complies with both domestic and cross-border regulations. The effort aligns with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area and reinforces South Africa’s role in driving digital financial transformation.

Industry leaders have increasingly pointed to blockchain as a key enabler of this shift. At the Blockchain Africa Conference 2022, Charles Hoskinson, founder of IOHK and creator of Cardano, highlighted the technology’s potential to support financial inclusion, digital identity, and transparent systems across the continent.

At the same time, Nigeria is emerging as a major Web3 and blockchain talent hub, accounting for roughly four percent of new global Web3 developers in 2024.

Crypto.com highlights that this collaboration will broaden financial access and create secure pathways for digital asset adoption. Together, the institutions aim to empower African businesses and individuals with a future-ready financial system, setting a benchmark for regulated blockchain finance on the continent.

Meanwhile, Crypto.com became the first major cryptocurrency platform to achieve the ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification, the world’s first international standard for artificial intelligence management systems (AIMS).

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