thecoinrepublic.com
- DBS is planning to expand cryptocurrency services to Hong Kong.
- Planning to apply for a license so the bank can sell digital assets.
It is always exciting when a huge traditional bank venture into crypto; this bridges the gap between the two financing phenomena. DBS Group, a state-owned Singapore megabank, plans to expand its cryptocurrency services to Hong Kong. It’s part of a plan where Chinese territory will become a digital hub. Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) Bak is also planning to apply for a license that would allow them to offer crypto trading services to Hong Kong Customers.
Singapore's largest bank @dbsbank is reportedly seeking a license to launch #crypto services in Hong Kong. 👇 pic.twitter.com/R9hBmix8JT
— The Tokenist (@thetokenist) February 13, 2023
DBS to apply for a License
As per February 13 report, Sebastian Paredes, CEO of DBS Bank Hong Kong, said:
“We are planning to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that the bank can sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers.”
Paredes also opined that DBS welcomes Hong Kong’s new crypto-related policies and that the bank is also “very sensitive” to the risks analogous to digital assets. The bank aims to be one of the pioneer leaders in providing crypto services in Hong Kong only after the crypto regulations are crystal clear and the bank completely understands the framework to abide by it.
DBS & Crypto
The bank has been making immense strides in cryptocurrency for a few years now. In late 2020 they launched their institutional crypto exchange in Singapore. They are also working on expanding their crypto platform for retail investors and applying Decentralized Finance (DeFi) technologies in joint ventures with the central bank of Singapore.
Hong Kong & Crypto
China’s special administrative regions have proclaimed their pro-crypto stance; this caused the DBS Bank to plan their moves and expand to Hong Kong. In January 2023, Paul Chan, the financial secretary of Hong Kong, declared that the government is welcoming and open to collaborations from fintech and crypto startups in the year 2023. The officials seemed happy after saying that many firms in the crypto industry have shared their willingness to expand their operations to Hong Kong; some might even go public on the local exchanges.
Lawmakers of Hong Kong had already passed legislation for setting up a licensing system for virtual assets service providers in December 2022. This framework is specially designed to provide crypto exchanges a similar market recognition as the traditional financial institutions currently enjoy.
On the one hand, Hong Kong has a welcoming approach towards crypto, but recent events in Singapore have caused them to have a stricter approach. All the major collapses in 2022 have instilled fear among all associated with the industry. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also proposed to ban all cryptocurrency credit in October 2022 after the Singaporean crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital bankruptcy filing.
This announcement is good for DBS, and their net profit will rise by 20% to 8.19 billion Singaporean dollars (SGD), which is $6.7 billion in 2022. Also, their net income increased by 16% to 16.5 SGD ($12.4 billion); it was the first time in history that it crossed the 16 billion SGD mark.
At the time of writing, the DBS Group stock was trading at $106.51, with a drop of 1.57%.