The Asian bank DBS is aiming at companies of all sizes to raise capital on its exchange. The financial institution manages more than USD 426 billion in assets.
Shortly, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia will launch an exchange platform for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The name of this platform is DBS Digital Exchange.
The financial institution, which has been in business for more than half a century, is responsible for USD 426 billion in assets. They have learned that those who adapt better will survive longer in today’s financial world. The announcement of their new product seems to indicate this. They acknowledge that “financial assets are ready to be the future of the digital economy of the future.”
They announced on their website in recent days. Even though no one knows why they removed it, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine offers a glimpse of the project.
These are three products aimed at “small and medium-sized companies, as well as large corporations.” This triad includes a cryptocurrency exchange, a custody service, and a security token offering (STO) platform for capital rising.
Platform for Capital Rising with Tokens
Once the Monetary Authority of Singapore regulates DBS Digital Exchange, the platform will allow trading U.S., Hong Kong, and Singaporean dollars, as well as Japanese yen, for Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether from Ethereum (ETH), and XRP from Ripple. The parent company, DBS Bank, will take care of the custody of the funds in a new section for this purpose, whose name is DBS Digital Custody.
Although the implementation of Initial Security Token Offering (STO) is not yet operational, the institution says that it will focus on qualified investors. When they launch the tokens, users will be able to trade them on the exchange.
Generally speaking, the exchange will only accept the participation of financial institutions and professional market makers. Individual investors will only be able to access the exchange through its members, such as in the case of the DBS Private Bank.
Initially, the exchange will only be operational on weekdays during business hours, and it will be closed on weekends and holidays. However, they suggest that they will review it in the future.
The borders that separate banks and cryptocurrency exchanges are increasingly blurred. Exchanges like Kraken obtain banking licenses and banks like DBS launch their exchanges. In 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore began to build bridges between the two industries to improve their relations.
It seems that the purpose of the current race is to attract the new wave of institutional investors. These are just beginning to venture into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.
The relevance of crypto assets worldwide has grown exponentially in recent months. The main banks of the world have realized this, which has led them to undertake various activities. Some have been developing their digital currencies and others are creating their exchanges.
By Alexander Salazar
