- DBS Group Holdings expands bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading to 100,000 of its wealthiest customers.
- The bank requires capital requirements and a minimum investment of $500.
- The expansion follows Singapore’s central bank’s launch of a digital asset framework earlier this month.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Singapore’s largest bank, expanded its bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading services on its members-only exchange to 100,000 more of its wealthiest customers, according to a Bloomberg report.
Accredited investors, meaning customers with investable assets of at least $246,000, can now buy, sell and trade bitcoin and some cryptocurrencies. Also, the bank requires a minimum investment of $500.
Previously, this service was limited to corporate and institutional investors, family offices, DBS Private Bank clients and DBS Treasures Private Clients.
The bank reportedly witnessed its digital asset exchange double its transaction volume between April and June. Even more remarkable, bitcoin transactions alone nearly quadrupled.
However, while the bank is increasing its volume size in the larger ecosystem and is expanding its services to a wider range of investors, Singapore as a whole is still deciding which direction to take when it comes to retail investors.
Earlier this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, issued a statement reiterating that retail investors should not invest in the asset class.
“The prices of cryptocurrencies fluctuate wildly and investors can lose all the money they have invested in cryptocurrencies,” the MAS said.
Still, following the aforementioned notice, the MAS published its digital asset framework extending to 2025, where the regulator stated that it plans to “enable digital currency connectivity” through a plan called Project Orchid.
In this framework, the MAS also plans to explore distributed ledger technology, asset tokenization and cross-border payments. So while the future of bitcoin and retail investors remains unclear in Singapore, it is clear that the issue is not being ignored.
