Southeast Asia’s Largest Bank DBS to Launch Crypto Trading for Retail Investors

DBS, the biggest bank in Southeast Asia, plans to launch cryptocurrency trading services this year for retail customers.

Piyush Gupta, the bank’s CEO, was asked Monday whether DBS plans to expand its digital assets exchange. Also, was there a roadmap for digital asset trading for retail investors in light of the market growth.

Gupta responded:

In the first half of the year, and the first two quarters of next year, we will be focusing on making digital assets more accessible.

He explained: “Today, you have 24/7 access, but customers still need to contact bankers. The first order of business is to make everything online. Make it self-service and instant. Also, ensure that the internal processes are strong to support this.

DBS boss said: “At the same, we’ve begun doing the work to see how we can, in an sensible way, take out it and expand it beyond our accredited investor base. This includes ensuring that we have the right thinking about suitability, fraud potential, and so forth.

The DBS CEO continued:

However, once we have all these details sorted, it looks more like the end the year before we actually get something on the market.

DBS Bank launched cryptocurrency exchange in December 2020. In May 2017, the bank launched a trust service for cryptocurrencies, and in December 2018, it launched its first security token offering.

To provide crypto services, the bank’s brokerage arm received approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.