DBS Bank Is Planning to Launch a Digital Asset Exchange

GettyImages-962748512
27 October 2020

[UPDATED] DBS, the Singapore-based bank and financial services corporation, is building a digital assets trading platform.

  • According to a cached web page, apparently posted in error and then taken down, DBS Digital Exchange will offer access to "an integrated ecosystem of solutions to tap the vast potential of private markets and digital currencies."
  • On offer for trading against the Singapore dollar, the Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen and U.S. dollar will be four top cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and XRP.
  • "DBS’ plans for a digital exchange are still work in process, and have not received regulatory approvals," a DBS spokesperson confirmed to CoinDesk after publication of this article.
  • Until such approvals are confirmed, the bank will make no further announcements, they added.
  • The exchange will also offer tokenization services, offering business the opportunity to raise funds by issuing digital forms of securities and assets, per the cached page.
  • Assets will not be held by the exchange but by a dedicated, "institutional grade" custodian set up by DBS, dubbed DBS Digital Custody.
  • The exchange will be regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state's de facto central bank.
  • DBS is Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, according to online sources.
  • EDIT (14:10 UTC, Oct. 27 2020): Added confirmation from DBS Bank.

Also read: Pandemic Will Speed Bitcoin Adoption, Says DBS Bank Economist

Disclosure
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.