DBS bank is looking to expand its cryptocurrency services. Despite the bear market in cryptocurrencies, Singapore’s largest bank says it still intends to boost its digital exchange and provide services to more of its 300,000 high-net-worth customers in Asia.
The decline of the cryptocurrency market, according to Piyush Gupta, chief executive of DBS since 2009, demonstrated the need for established, regulated financial institutions, not just start-ups, to provide products like digital asset trading for retail investors.
DBS bank received a crypto license last year
The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted the bank’s brokerage division a cryptocurrency license last year, granting its wealthy and institutional clients invitation-only access to its DBS Digital Exchange.
Gupta claimed the bank has fewer than 1,000 members on the exchange but will soon make the service available to 300,000 of its affluent clients throughout Asia through its DBS mobile banking app.
According to him, the app would enable DBS to serve more clients while also streamlining and speeding up the process for customers. As of December 2021, DBS’s total assets were S$686 billion (US$488 billion).
The former Citibank executive, who has held senior banking positions throughout Asia, claimed that DBS was required to support Singapore’s push toward cutting-edge financial technology. In an interview with FT, he said, “People look to us to be a pioneer in the space and to continue to push boundaries.”
Gupta discussed the difficulties that face the nation’s regulators. On the one hand, we aim to become a major cryptocurrency hub. However, we’re also very concerned about our own citizens losing money due to this speculative asset class, he added.
According to Gupta, the losses incurred by small-scale investors in the crypto crash highlighted the significance of more reputable financial institutions providing services related to digital assets.
Between April and the end of June, the total number of trades on the bank’s Digital Exchange more than doubled, while the amount of bitcoin purchased on the exchange increased by almost four times. Ether, another well-liked token, has also grown in demand over the same time period by 65%.