First National Bank (FNB), part of South Africa’s second-largest banking group, has launched a crypto trading service through a partnership with local exchange VALR. The bank’s Crypto Investing product lets clients trade BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and USDT directly inside its existing share-trading platform, including Share Saver, Share Builder, Share Investor and Shares Zero.
The service runs 24/7 and requires a minimum of just R10, lowering the barrier for customers who already have a banking and investment relationship with FNB. According to Businessday and WuBlockchain, the launch responds to increasing customer demand for cryptocurrency investment options. However, FNB has deliberately limited the product to an investment model: customers can buy, hold and sell the five supported assets, but they cannot deposit crypto from external wallets or withdraw holdings to external addresses.
VALR provides the regulated crypto infrastructure behind the bank’s offering. VALR is authorized by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority as a crypto asset service provider under licence number 53308. That structure allows FNB to keep the customer relationship and investment interface while VALR handles the specialist digital-asset layer. The framework sits under the oversight of the South African Reserve Bank, and follows draft proposals published in August by SARB and the National Treasury on cross-border crypto transfers involving domestic providers, offshore providers and non-custodial wallets.
FNB says more crypto investment options are planned based on market demand. The initial five-asset selection gives customers exposure to the two largest crypto assets, major altcoin networks, and a dollar-linked stablecoin. The bank’s move signals a notable shift in traditional banking attitudes toward digital assets in South Africa and may encourage other financial institutions to pursue similar distribution models.
