Singapore’s DBS commits to crypto offerings despite slump: report

Singapore’s largest bank, DBS, aims to expand its cryptocurrency and digital assets offerings to 300,000 new clients in the face of the crypto bear market, according to a Financial Times report on Tuesday. 

Fast facts

• In an interview, DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said recent losses incurred by retail investors in the crypto market crash highlight the importance of established financial institutions joining the digital asset services space.

• DBS’s brokerage arm received a cryptocurrency license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore last year and has since allowed access to its digital exchange to under 1,000 institutional and wealthy clients by invitation only, the FT reported. 

• According to Gupta, the bank’s cryptocurrency services will soon be offered to DBS’s 300,000 clients across Asia, including private banks, accredited investors, other exchanges and funds. 

• “People look to us to be a pioneer in the space and to continue to push boundaries,” Gupta told the FT, adding that DBS can place “guardrails” and protections that will lead to “better outcomes” for investors. 

• State investment group Temasek holds a stake of almost 30% in DBS, but the bank’s plans for expansion follow a turbulent year in Singapore’s crypto environment, with crypto players such as Three Arrows Capital filing for bankruptcy. 
• Speaking to the FT about challenges facing Singapore’s crypto regulators, Gupta said: “On the one hand, we want to be a global crypto hub. On the other hand, we’re also very worried about our domestic population getting burned with this speculative asset class.”

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