DBS launches Asia’s first crypto trust service for private clients

Last Friday, May 14, the DBS Group Holdings Ltd published a press release on the launch of their cryptocurrency trust service that will allow their private clients to invest in cryptocurrencies namely Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ripple (XRP).

The fiat trading pairs that will be recognized by DBS’s Crypto Trust Service are Singapore dollar, Hongkong dollar, US dollar and Japan yen.

When asked why this project matters, the head of DBS Private Bank, Joseph Poon stated in an interview with crypto news site Coin Desk:

‘Our trust structure allows clients to conveniently hold these assets, with a peace of mind that they will be safely managed and passed on to their intended beneficiaries … In recent years, more clients have expressed interest or are already invested in digital assets and we expect this trend to accelerate as cryptocurrencies turn more mainstream.’

According to Poon, the Crypto Trust Service was conceptualized after the successful launch of the DBS digital exchange the previous year. In December 2020, DBS offered their investors several services on digital assets such as integrated tokenization, trading and custody ecosystem.

‘Our digital exchange capabilities are much like Coinbase. The difference is that Coinbase is mass-market retail while we have been judicious by offering this to accredited investors and institutional counterparties to start with,’ stated DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta in an interview with regional crypto news site Coin News Asia.

He added that the launch of the Crypto Trust Service is due to the surge of trading volume in the DBS digital exchange going up 10 times higher during the first quarter of the year.

‘Even with the careful expansion, the first-quarter numbers have been encouraging, there are $80 million in assets under custody, trading volumes have gone up 10 times to $30 million-$40 million. We have 120 customers with a pipeline of hundreds more,’ added Gupta.

The Singapore-based bank’s new crypto project aims to give digital assets legitimate space in the financial sector by focusing on institutional investors. It is expected to lead other huge players in the market to invest in cryptocurrency.

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