Bitcoin trading up 80% at DBS Bank due to crypto crashes in 2022, says exec

Singapore government-owned megabank DBS is among the fewer companies astir the satellite that reaped large benefits from monolithic cryptocurrency collapses successful 2022.

DBS Digital Exchange, DBS Bank’s organization crypto trading platform, saw a important summation successful Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes past year. According to DBS Digital Exchange CEO Lionel Lim, the fig of DBS crypto clients much than doubled successful 2022 compared to the erstwhile year.

“Bitcoin trading volumes grew 80% astatine the integer speech during the aforesaid period,” Lim said successful an interrogation with Cointelegraph connected May 8.

The enforcement believes that the spike successful request for crypto services astatine DBS Digital Exchange is simply a effect of crypto speech collapses successful 2022. Lim noted that DBS continues seeing a increasing inclination successful volumes. He stated:

“DBS continues to payment from the formation to information and prime pursuing the implosion of respective exchanges past year.”

Evy Theunis, caput of integer assets astatine DBS Bank, besides told Cointelegraph that DBS has seen much practice enquiries from integer plus and blockchain firms successful caller months.

Launched successful 2020, DBS’ cryptocurrency speech serves exclusively organization investors. Despite considering expanding services to retail customers past year, DBS continues to beryllium a members-only speech serving firm and organization investors arsenic of May 2023, Lim noted.

FTX is 1 of the biggest crypto exchanges that subsided successful 2022. Before FTX collapsed successful November 2022, the level traded a important magnitude of crypto coming from organization investors. In March 2022, FTX launched a dedicated portion moving with institutions. At the time, astir two-thirds of trading volumes connected FTX and FTX US were reportedly coming from organization accounts.

While indicating a affirmative interaction from crypto speech crashes successful 2022, DBS Digital Exchange CEO sees nary power coming from the ongoing banking situation successful the United States.

Related: Concern implicit banking situation reaches levels unseen since 2008 — Poll

“Some of our marketplace makers sought caller USD banking rails pursuing the illness of the crypto-friendly US banks,” Lim said. However, determination has been nary nonstop interaction connected DBS’ crypto exchange, helium noted, stating:

“The illness of the US banks has not impacted our merchandise and work pipeline. That said, we support a adjacent ticker connected these developments and are prepared to set our plans if necessary.”

While being a crypto-friendly slope itself, DBS is not disquieted astir immoderate risks allegedly stemming from its crypto exposure.

“DBS does not rehypothecate oregon commercialized integer assets successful clients’ custody. As such, determination is nary liquidity risk,” Lim told Cointelegraph. “Our clients’ integer assets are successful custody with DBS Bank, abstracted from DBS Digital Exchange,” the CEO noted.

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