- The DBS Digital Exchange platform is being made more widely available by the bank.
- Qualified clients can trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and XRP.
- The move comes amid growing regulatory tensions in Singapore
The largest bank in Singapore, DBS Group Holdings Ltd., is reportedly welcoming new customers to its exclusive cryptocurrency trading service for members. The release states that the move is a response to the growing trend of self-directed investment strategies among the bank’s wealthy clientele.
DBS Digital Exchange now supports the trading of tokens such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and XRP for accredited investors in the DBS Treasures segment, which needs investable assets of S$350,000 ($246,000).
About 100,000 Singapore residents will have access to the services with a $500 minimum investment amount. Until recently, only corporate and institutional investors, family offices, DBS Private Bank, and DBS Treasures Private Client customers were able to take advantage of the service.
As reported by the bank, the number of trades on the digital exchange increased by about four times between April and June, and the amount of Bitcoin purchased increased by nearly as much.
This isn’t DBS’s first pro-crypto gesture in recent months. Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS since 2009, said earlier this month that the recent decline in the value of cryptocurrencies indicated that established and regulated financial institutions, rather than just start-ups, should be offering products like digital asset trading for retail investors.
On this note, Gupta added that DBS has to back Singapore’s initiative to develop cutting-edge financial technology.
However, the situation for the retail crypto market in Singapore is rather different. In August, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ravi Menon, indicated that the agency would restrict retail access to cryptocurrencies and investigate “further measures to reduce consumer harm.”
Menon did, however, reaffirm the MAS’s confidence in the “transformative” economic potential of the larger digital asset ecosystem, which includes tokenized digital versions of conventional assets.
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