DBS Bank launching a crypto Trading Service for Retail Customers

DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, will launch a retail cryptocurrency trading service as part of its expansion into space following the launch of a digital asset trading desk for institutional investors. DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta said at the bank's fourth-quarter earnings briefing on Monday that it had a roadmap, but did not provide further details.

The CEO of DBS Bank, Piyush Gupta said, “We've started doing the work on seeing how we get in a sensible way, take it out, and expand it beyond the current investor base. And that includes making sure we are appropriately thinking about things like potential fraud and others."

Gupta, who has been heading the bank since 2009, also said he hopes DBS Bank will improve its digital asset trading platform to provide "much more convenient access to  digital assets."

This means allowing online deposits to work faster and more seamlessly with a minimum number of intermediaries. The bank's current workflow requires the customer to call the bank staff to place an order in the Singapore time zone.

The bank established a crypto exchange division called DBS Digital Exchange in December 2020. According to a report by CoinDesk, the exchange notched full-year trading volume of about $819 million in 2021.