A now-deleted webpage announcing that Singapore’s largest bank is planning to launch a “digital exchange” supporting crypto asset trading is the latest sign of increasing institutional adoption of virtual currencies.
The document, which appeared briefly on the DBS website, announced the new exchange will support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic, (ETC), and Ripple (XRP), alongside the fiat currencies of Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and The United States. The announcement also noted plans to support asset-backed security tokens.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, JST Capital co-founder Todd Morakis, described the move as a likely catalyst for other major banks and financial firms in the Asian region to reveal their strategies for the crypto asset sector within “the next three to six months.”
“You’re going to see other banks come out and start saying what they plan on doing with [crypto] It’s really going mainstream.”
Morakis noted the page specified the exchange will be regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). While details concerning the type of licensing the exchange is seeking were not included, Morakis said he believed the exchange would comprise the first digital asset exchange “in Southeast Asia that is regulated.”
Morakis emphasized that DBS’ digital exchange will offer a trusted fiat on-and-off-ramp for a wider audience to access the crypto sector, predicting the platform will be seen as “a direct link to DBS wealth management.”
“It's a ramp now for more of the community to get access to invest in this asset class, and it brings in the banking community [...] I think the people who haven’t entered the crypto space are going to feel very comfortable trading on DBS’s exchange”
JST’s co-founder also expects the DBS Digital Exchange will reach beyond Singapore, stating: “For DBS to back it, it's going to be for their clients who are everywhere.”
Morakis described the past month as being one of the most significant for institutional adoption in the digital asset sector, noting Square’s recent $50 million investment in Bitcoin and PayPal announcing plans to launch cryptocurrency trading services in 2021.