DBS bank reported over S$1.1 billion in trading value for its digital exchange in financial year 2021, calling the activity a “strong traction” for the first year of operations of its digital asset ecosystem.
The bank said that momentum picked up after its DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) went operational 24/7 in Aug 2021. Trading values in the fourth quarter came in at close to S$800 million, five times higher than the previous quarter.
DDEx is one of the world’s first bank-backed digital exchanges and it constitutes of members such as accredited investors, corporate and institutional customers, and family offices.
DBS’ digital assets under custody as at end of last year was more than S$800 million, four times more than the amount recorded in the third quarter.
In October, DBS’ brokerage arm, DBS Vickers received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide digital payment token services. This enabled the brokerage, as a member of DDEx, to support asset managers and firms to trade in digital payment tokens through the exchange.
DBS plans to scale exchange, list more tokens
“We are not resting on our laurels and in the coming year, we will be scaling our business to serve a larger target pool of customers, leveraging DBS’ digital asset ecosystem and deep investor base,” said Lionel Lim, CEO of DDEx.
“We also aim to list more digital payment tokens and security token offerings (STOs) for trading. Our sustainable growth trajectory will help grow the market for digital assets in the region, which in turn contributes to deepening Singapore’s expertise and stature as a global hub for digital assets.”
A check on DBS website shows that it currently offers four cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP.
According to the exchange, it provides an integrated suite of end-to-end solutions across the digital value chain, including payments, settlements, secondary trading, and custody.
Featured Image Credit: Reuters
