Singapore: DBS Bank predicts 30% crypto growth

DBS Bank, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia, said it expects the crypto sector to grow by 30% a year over the next three years.

DBS Bank and the crypto trading platform

In an interview, senior executives from DBS Bank, which backs the DBS Digital Exchange, reportedly confirmed continued investor interest in cryptocurrency trading, which would lead to a growth in crypto demand. 

Specifically, Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, head of capital markets at DBS and president of the exchange, said the following:

“We are growing very rapidly. Investors are gradually exploring cryptocurrencies and digital assets”.

Thanks to the DBS Digital Exchange, established in December 2020, which supports trading with Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), DBS Bank has been able to monitor the market and make its forecasts. 

In addition to the 30% growth, DBS also expects to double the number of members on its crypto trading platform to 1,000 users by the end of this year. 

DBS Bank and the DBS Digital Exchange 

Singapore’s DBS Digital Exchange is the first crypto and digital asset exchange backed by a bank, DBS Bank. 

The services it offers are mainly the trading of the four cryptocurrencies BTC, BCH, ETH and XRP and the four fiat currencies USD, SGD, HKD and JPY, but also the Security Token Offering (STO) and crypto custody services. 

In this regard, Eng-Kwok continued in his interview by stating that DBS’s position as one of the largest asset managers in Asia and its expertise in capital markets operations would help it attract users and increase crypto trading volume.

Not only that, even on the subject of asset expansion on the exchange, Eng-Kwok said it is possible that at least half a dozen security tokens will be listed by the end of 2022.

Singapore: the country loyal to the crypto sector according to surveys

Compared to other Asian countries such as China, Singapore has been open to the crypto sector from the start. Some surveys have even identified Singaporeans’ preferences in the sector. 

Last July 2021, a survey by the Independent Reserve revealed that 35% of the Singaporean population owns Bitcoin. That wasn’t all, the other owned crypto assets mentioned were Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP and Chainlink.

At the end of August 2021, another survey was carried out directly by the Gemini crypto exchange with its “The State of Crypto in Singapore 2021” which revealed that in Singapore ETH is more popular than BTC. 

A somewhat contradictory result compared to the former, but it also refers to the period of just June and July 2021. Likely, the euphoria towards the smart contract crypto par excellence would have prevailed over Singaporean tastes, compared to the crypto queen. 

This month, Gemini introduced a new giveaway for its Singapore users to whom it will give away $100 in Gemini products and two tickets to a spin class on 25 September. This is an opportunity for the crypto exchange to establish itself in a country where there is freedom but not yet widespread crypto when compared to Western countries.