Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
Southeast Asia’s Largest Bank DBS Reveals Plans to Expand Crypto Services in Hong Kong – Featured Bitcoin News
DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, has unveiled its plan to expand its crypto services in Hong Kong. “We plan to apply for a license in Hong Kong to allow the bank to sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers,” said an executive at the bank.
DBS Bank will apply for a license for digital assets in Hong Kong
DBS Group Holdings has unveiled its plan to expand its services in Hong Kong. The Straits Times reported on Monday that the bank plans to apply for a license to offer crypto trading services to Hong Kong customers. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is the largest bank in Southeast Asia with a presence in 18 markets.
DBS Bank (Hong Kong) CEO Sebastian Paredes said at a briefing on Monday:
We plan to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that the bank can sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers.
The executive stated that once the regulations surrounding cryptoassets in Hong Kong are clear and the bank “exactly understands the framework”, DBS will be among lenders interested in participating. He noted that while DBS is aware of the risks associated with digital assets, the bank supports Hong Kong’s recent policy shift.
Hong Kong is currently seeking to attract digital asset companies. In January, Finance Minister Paul Chan Mo-po confirmed the city’s commitment to becoming a crypto hub. In contrast to China’s anti-crypto stance, the Hong Kong government is considering providing greater access for retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
DBS launched a full-service bitcoin exchange in Singapore for corporate and institutional investors in late 2020. After seeing increased trading volume, the bank launched a crypto-trust service, followed by its initial security token offering. DBS continued to expand its crypto business citing “increasing demand”.
The bank received a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide crypto services in October 2021 and subsequently launched a self-managed crypto trading service. Furthermore, DBS entered the metaverse last September.
What do you think about DBS Bank expanding its crypto services in Hong Kong? Let us know in the comments section below.
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