Bitcoin-friendly DBS Bank to offer crypto services in Hong Kong
DBS Bank has revealed that it’s seeking regulatory approval from Hong Kong authorities to offer crypto services to its regional customers. Last year, the bank recorded a four-fold surge in demand for its bitcoin (BTC) trading service.
In a bid to take advantage of Hong Kong’s newfound liberal stance towards blockchain-based digital assets, DBS Bank, Singapore’s leading lender established in 1968, has hinted at plans to secure a regulatory license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
Per a Bloomberg report, the license will enable DBS to offer its Hong Kong customers crypto products.
Commenting on the latest development, Sebastian Paredes, the CEO of DBS Bank, stated that the lender is interested in making it possible for users in Hong Kong to purchase crypto directly from their bank accounts. However, it remains pretty sensitive to the inherent risks in digital asset products.
Banks increasingly warming up to crypto
DBS Bank’s brokerage arm DBS Vickers first secured a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2021 to offer crypto asset services to asset managers and institutions within Singapore.
Despite 2021’s bearish market conditions, which have continued to strike Web3 industry players this year, DBS Bank said it witnessed a massive surge in crypto trading volume on its platform in the past year.
Buoyed by the increasing demand for bitcoin (BTC) trading service, DBS expanded the scope of the offering last Sept., to enable its wealth clients to trade established altcoins such as ether (ETH), XRP, and other altcoins on its DDEX exchange.
While regulatory dark clouds still abound in the global Web3 ecosystem, with the U.S. SEC now working on a fresh draft proposal that could make life harder for institutions interested in offering crypto services, cryptocurrency adoption by traditional financial institutions across various jurisdictions has surged in recent times.
So far, leading lenders such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, BNY Mellon, and many other traditional financial institutions have joined the Web3 bandwagon, with HSBC recently signaling plans to enter the crypto market.
