London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Singapore’s DBS bank to launch digital currency exchange

Singapore’s DBS bank to launch digital currency exchange

DBS Digital Exchange will be the world’s first cryptocurrency exchange backed by a traditional bank, says DBS chief Piyush Gupta

Singapore’s largest bank DBS is launching a digital currency exchange featuring four top cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Bitcoin cash.

DBS Digital Exchange would be the world’s first cryptocurrency exchange backed by a traditional bank, said DBS chief Piyush Gupta on Thursday. The platform is open to institutional as well as elite retail investors.

A local cryptocurrency expert said the announcement, which comes amid the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival, would likely boost perceptions of cryptocurrencies as “legitimate investments”.

DBS hopes to have the exchange running as early as next week. It will allow the cryptocurrencies to be traded against four fiats: the Singapore dollar, the US dollar, the Hong Kong dollar and the Japanese yen and trading hours will be from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.

The bank has already received in-principle approval from Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, for the exchange to operate organised markets for assets such as shares, bonds and private equity funds.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is a 10 per cent shareholder in the set-up.


A man walks past a DBS sign in Singapore.


In addition to allowing trades of cryptocurrency, the DBS Digital Exchange would conduct security token offerings. These are a type of cryptocurrency tied to actual assets, such as real estate, cars, or corporate stock. This means companies from small and medium-sized enterprises to multinational corporations can raise capital by digitising their financial assets such as shares in unlisted companies, bonds and private equity funds.

Gupta said the “integrated offering” was significant because it would include issuance, investing and trading of securities tokens. Gupta said current cryptocurrency exchanges “tend to lack the possibility that being part of a banking group can bring to this activity”.

“We bring a large origination capability from our capital markets presence. We bring a substantial distribution capability, which includes into our own private bank and wealth base as well as institutional client base. And because we are an established custody house, we’ve built a lot of capabilities and knowledge and experience in managing the custody function as well,” he said. “So leveraging the power and strength of DBS bank allows us to build volume, liquidity and scale in this exchange in a manner which a lot of other bespoke exchanges find difficult to do.”

While institutional investors including financial institutes and market makers can access the exchange directly, retail investors – who have to be accredited inventors – would have to access it via DBS Vickers Securities or DBS Private Bank. Under the central bank regulations, accredited investors are those whose annual income is at least S$300,000 (US$224,000), or their personal assets exceed S$2 million or net financial assets exceed S$1 million.

Unlike other digital exchanges, this one will not hold the crypto assets. These will instead be kept with the banking arm of DBS via an “institutional grade” custodian.

Gupta said the move comes amid global trends such as the exponential growth in private markets and cryptocurrency markets. For example, cryptocurrency markets have grown to over 3,900 different currency types and are now traded across more than 300 exchanges with a market cap of US$570 billion.

Kenneth Bok, the chief executive at blockchain advisory Blocks and a cryptocurrency expert, said it was a significant development given DBS’s “excellent branding in the region” and the bank’s exchange would “give the ownership of cryptocurrencies more legitimacy, and provide for institutional grade protection in owning cryptocurrencies”.

Bok added that banks in Singapore were “somewhat famous” for denying crypto start-ups bank accounts due to know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering risks (AML), so having this exchange “definitely shifts the perception of cryptocurrencies as legitimate investments”.

“This will improve the cryptocurrency cybersecurity standards to the level of banks,” he said.

The future of cryptocurrencies was among the key topics debated this week at the Singapore Fintech Festival, one of the world’s biggest state-backed conferences in the sector.

While acknowledging that digital currencies had their benefits, Gupta in a panel session at the conference on Monday said it was best for central banks to issue digital currencies given the KYC and AML risks.

“You get the benefits without throwing the baby out with the bathwater … so I do think you will find, over the next few years, that some kind of a network stitched together but with central bank digital currencies at the core, could become a reality,” he said.

In the press conference on Thursday, Gupta said meeting regulatory standards on KYC and AML was among the reasons DBS had “taken some time” to launch the exchange.

Bulge-bracket banks have remained somewhat lukewarm over directly handling cryptocurrencies even as the value of the likes of Bitcoin surged to record highs this year.

The European Central Bank’s chief Christine Lagarde last week reiterated that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin – which hit an all-time high of nearly US$20,000 in late November – were “highly volatile, illiquid and speculative”.

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
would likely boost perceptions of cryptocurrencies as “legitimate investments”. The fourth word says it all. Please explain (i really lnow you cant) what makes this worth anything

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×