The major Singapore-based bank DBS confirmed that it is planning to launch a retail-focused crypto trading desk in 2022, after last year doing the same for accredited investors and corporate customers.
The plans include an online portal that allows clients to place orders for various digital assets, similar to how other crypto exchanges work, DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said during a presentation of the banks financial results for the 4th quarter of 2021 today.
For now, the bank will focus on making the use of its existing corporate-focused digital asset trading desk more convenient for users, with an aim to “expand it beyond the current investor base” later in the year.
“[…] we should have something by the end of the year,” Gupta said noting that there is “lots of work to do with suitability and anti-fraud […].”
Under the current procedures, clients of the DBS crypto trading desk – which includes certain companies and accredited investors – need to call the bank to place their crypto trades by phone. According to Gupta, however, the plan for this year is to make everything work online, and have clients place orders themselves.
The announcement of a retail trading desk for digital assets today follows reports from late 2020 about the bank planning to set up its own digital asset exchange. Back then, the bank said the plans include a “full-service digital exchange” that will also provide tokenization offerings for unlisted companies that are looking to digitize their assets, as well as trading and a “custody ecosystem for digital assets.”
Meanwhile, the bank in August of 2021 announced that it had received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to “provide digital payment token services.” The month also marked the opening of the banks digital asset exchange for companies, which in the second quarter of last year saw trading volumes of SGD 180m (USD 134m), according to the bank.