Singapore bank, DBS, has partnered with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to launch a members-only digital bourse. The DBS Digital Exchange is aimed at institutional investors and high net worths, and will offer tokenisation, secondary trading of digital assets including bitcoin and custody services. The launch is seen as a significant development in that it involves a major bank and a regulated exchange and has the backing of the local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Global daily trading value on digital exchanges is estimated to have ranged between $50 and $100 billion during 2019 but there has been only minimal involvement from the institutional market thus far due to concerns about security and illicit fund flows in the crypto world. Speaking at the launch of the platform, Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS said: “The time has come, the time is right for this industry to increasingly find partnership and sponsorship from the formal banking sector.” Others in the Asian crypto market have welcomed the development. “This is huge news and a welcome sign that regulators in the region are becoming comfortable with banks handling crypto and crypto-related trading,” said Gunnar Jaerv, chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based settlement technology provider, First Digital Trust. “This should be the first of many monumental shifts in crypto adoption in Asia.” © 2020 funds global asia