DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest bank, has expanded its scope of supported cryptocurrency services by scoring another regulatory approval.
It has been reported that DBS Bank’s brokerage arm, DBS Vickers (DBSV), has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services as a payment institution.
However, the approval is granted under Singapore’s Payment Services Act, paving the way for DBSV’s payment license. Once licensed, the firm will be able to directly support asset managers and companies trading in digital payment tokens through DBS Bank’s cryptocurrency-enabled exchange, DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx).
The report said that in conjunction with the MAS approval announcement, DBS also disclosed that DDEx will begin operating 24X7 starting next Monday, allowing investors to trade on the platform at any time. The company said that the exchange initially operated only during Asian trading hours.
Launched in late 2020, DDEx supports trading of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), targeting only institutional investors.
Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, the Group Head of Capital Markets at DBS Bank, said that the company has been seeing growing demand among corporates and asset managers for digital payment token services.
He added:
“This could add to DDEx’s volumes in the coming months, and, coupled with DDEx going operational round-the-clock, help accelerate growth for DDEx.”
Likewise, DBS Bank has been actively extending its range of supported digital asset-related services after setting up a crypto exchange last December. In May, DBS Private Bank launched a cryptocurrency trust solution via its fully-owned trust company DBS Trustee. It previously announced that it had posted tenfold volume growth on its cryptocurrency exchange in the first quarter of 2021.
Thus, the latest news comes shortly after the MAS issued the first in-principle approval for the Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve last week, allowing the firm to operate as a fully regulated digital asset service provider.
Source: Cointelegraph
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