Singapore’s biggest bank, DBS, recently disclosed that it is set to unveil its crypto exchange that would begin trading of digital assets as soon as next week.
The DBS Digital Exchange, when launched, would be the foremost digital currency exchange backed by a traditional bank in the world. It will also leverage blockchain technology to create a digital assets ecosystem and provide tokenization, trading, and custody services to institutional and accredited investors.
JUST IN: We will be launching a digital exchange, offering exchange services between four fiat currencies (SGD, USD, HKD, JPY), and four of the most established #cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash and XRP. Find out more: https://t.co/qBRftYyHqJ#SGFintechFest pic.twitter.com/UwhrkJ5Uwv
— DBS Bank (@dbsbank) December 10, 2020
At launch, the DBS Digital Exchange will facilitate trading between four major fiat currencies, namely, the U.S. dollar (USD), Singapore dollar (SGD), Hong Kong dollar (HKD), and Japanese yen (JPY) against four major cryptocurrencies. The digital currencies that can be traded are Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and XRP.
DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta, in a statement, noted that the digital exchange initiative was put into place due to how the exponential pace of asset digitalization provides “immense opportunities” to reshape the capital markets.
According to him, “For Singapore to become even more competitive as a global financial hub, we have to prepare ourselves to welcome the mainstream adoption of digital assets and currency trading. DBS is committed to accelerating the development of a fully integrated ecosystem to facilitate this. We believe that this is the first of its kind integrated offering, which is differentiated in many ways.”
DBS Crypto Exchange Modus Operandi
According to the announcement, the DBS crypto exchange would be a subsidiary of the banking group, DBS Group Holdings. The group will possess 90% of the exchange, while the Singapore Exchange (SGX) will take the remaining 10% stake in the exchange.
Additionally, both establishments will also explore different ways to increase the scale, liquidity, and growth of Singapore’s capital markets in the growing area of cryptocurrencies.
Expressing his excitement with the new initiative, SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye disclosed that his firm was excited to apply its market infrastructure and risk management strengths to this venture.
“We look forward to working closely with DBS to advance Singapore’s standing as a multi-asset international financial center,” he added.
Also, several reports have stated that experienced broker-dealer Lim Meng Wee will be in charge of the exchange.
Assets, Security Tokenization, and Other Features
In addition to enabling digital currency trading, DBS, via its announcement, disclosed that the bank’s new platform would also be dedicated to the issuance and trading of tokenized assets and the provision of digital custodial services.
The security token offering platform will focus on the issuance and trading of digital assets backed by financial assets, like shares in bonds, unlisted companies, and private equity funds. Additionally, the security token offerings platform is expected to be unveiled by the exchange in Q1 of 2021.
The custodial service facet of the exchange will tap into DBS’ already existing top-notch cybersecurity tech to safeguard and secure client’s assets once it is unveiled.
In the announcement, the bank notes, “Leveraging DBS’ experience in providing world-class custody services for conventional assets, DBS’ digital custody services provide the custody of cryptographic keys that control digital assets on behalf of clients.”
Once again, it is important to note that the DBS Digital Exchange is only for accredited investors and institutional investors.
BTC price
As of press time, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $18,413.64, with a market cap of $341,918,940,486 and a 24-hour trading volume of $162,359,475,138.
For more current activities in the crypto space, check out the Altcoin Buzz YouTube channel.
