Piyush Gupta, the CEO of DBS, has indicated that institutional clients are the primary focus right away, but it is not ruling out retail customers in future.
The DBS bank’s CEO, in an earnings call, indicated that the financial institution was targeting getting into cryptos, with the primary focus being institutional and accredited investors. Once the regulatory framework is ready, the bank will move ahead and open the retail desk.
DBS Crypto Portfolio Grows, Focuses on Large and Accredited Crypto Base
When DBS released its earnings call in February, it indicated its plans to unveil a retail crypto trading desk by the close of 2022. However, the statement by the CEO in February shows a deviation, moving towards accredited investors because of the regulatory framework.
However, Gupta did not entirely shut down the bank’s retail plan. He indicated that they would wait for the technology and regulatory framework to mature. He added that they already have a largely affluent and accredited investor base to target for growth.
Gupta added that the technology to set up a retail exchange is taking longer than anticipated. Therefore, the bank will not offer retail cryptos in the country in 2022.
The present crypto offerings are only available to institutional clients, who are defined as those with SGD 2 million in assets. Over the last quarter’s trading activity, the volume grew significantly. The bank now has about SGD 1 billion worth of cryptos in its accounts.
Singapore is home to a population of 5.6 million people, with 4,200 of them having a net worth of more than SGD 30 million and 520,000 worth over SGD 1 million.
Although the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has created a license, which is considered supportive of institutional cryptos, it is not supportive of retail involvement.
Ravi Menon, the managing director of MAS, said that they have taken a tough line on crypto access by “retailer investors because they should be dabbling in cryptocurrencies.” He added that many regulators across the globe share the same sentiment.
