DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, has disclosed its Q1 earnings results last week. During the briefing, the bank announced that the cryptocurrency trading volumes on its exchange increase by ten folds, bringing the total to approximately $30 million to $40 million.
“The first-quarter numbers have been encouraging … There are $80 million in assets under custody, trading volumes have gone up 10 times to $30 million-$40 million.”
Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Bank
Launched in December 2020, the digital exchange is said to be as capable as Coinbase. The difference between the two exchanges is that the former caters to the mass market while the latter takes care to only serve accredited investors and institutional counterparties.
Although the exchange has only been operating for a few months, the huge increase in trading volumes may be an indicator that cryptocurrency is becoming significantly popular within Southeast Asia.
Gupta said the bank currently has 120 customers, with hundreds more expected to add to the count.
The CEO also mentioned that the bank is collaborating with JP Morgan on a blockchain settle platform, adding that they “hope to do the first security token offering in the second quarter.”
