Singapore’s DBS plans a crypto retail desk, CEO says
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The bank launched an institutional crypto trading desk in early 2021 after a regulatory nod from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
DBS, a banking and financial services giant headquartered in Singapore, has plans for a crypto trading desk that will target retail investors, the bank’s chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said on Monday.
Gupta revealed the plans during an earnings call following the bank’s fourth-quarter report released on Monday.
According to an excerpt of the call cited by news publication CoinDesk, much more needs to be done before the trading desk rolls out. However, the DBS chief believes the financial services provider will be all systems go by the end of the year.
“We are starting the initial work to expand it beyond the current investor base,” Gupta said.
At the moment, the Singaporean banking giant is looking to expand its current infrastructure to offer the new service to customers beyond its existing base of accredited investors, the CEO added.
Most of the work on the trading desk, Gupta noted, relates to compliance and usability.
Aspects of the desk to do with user-friendliness and integration with crypto-assets should be done in the next several months, with targets for accessibility put around June of 2022.
DBS received a regulatory go-ahead from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) last year to offer crypto trading services and has emerged as one of the major banking institutions around the world looking to lean into crypto to satisfy customer demand.
Plans for a retail crypto trading desk comes after the bank’s successful unveiling of an institutional-based crypto trading desk.
Cryptocurrency
