DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), one of Asia’s first bank-backed digital exchanges, has reported a year-on-year increase of 80% in Bitcoin traded in financial year 2022, while the number of Bitcoin custodized with the bank doubled from 2021.
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Fast facts
- The volume of Ethereum held in the bank’s digital custody has also expanded 60%, while the number of Ether traded on the exchange was almost 65% higher, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
- DDEx is the bank’s members-only exchange, offering accredited investors, financial institutions, and family offices that bank with DBS, access to cryptocurrency and digital payment tokens.
- The exchange’s customer base doubled in 2022 with about 1,200 registered participants as of Dec. 31, and saw a net buy position for its customers throughout the second half of last year.
- “In 2022, we saw growing interest from our corporate clients and were actively working towards converting a number of enquiries into STOs [security token offerings],” Lionel Lim, CEO of the DBS Digital Exchange, said. “However, these were put on hold given the market volatility as well as macroeconomic uncertainty. We will continue to work with these potential issuers as well as explore origination opportunities for high quality STO listings in 2023.”
- In September, DBS Bank, Southeast Asia’s largest lender, introduced a self-directed cryptocurrency trading service for accredited wealth clients. Currently, more than 90% of trades by the bank’s wealth clients are executed digitally, the statement said.
- DBS Group reported a net profit growth of 20% in 2022 to S$8.19 billion (US$6.14 billion), while total income rose 16% to exceed S$16 billion (US$11 billion) for the first time.
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