By Rthvika Suvarna


Trading on DBS's digital exchange surged in the first five months of the year, the Singaporean bank has said, reflecting growing investor appetite for digital assets.

DBS said Tuesday that the value of digital payments tokens on its exchange nearly tripled over the January-June period from the same period last year, while the number of active clients jumped 36%.

The bank reported net inflows on its exchange from both new and existing clients, coming amid a sharp rise in the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies.

"Professional investors are increasingly viewing digital assets as a legitimate part of their alternative portfolios," said Lim Wee Kian, chief executive of DBS Digital Exchange.

Lim added that the bank aims to expand its offering of digital assets, including potentially listing so-called stablecoins--a type of cryptocurrency with an external peg--on the exchange.

DBS, one of Southeast Asia's largest banks by assets, rolled out the digital exchange in December 2020, looking to fill a gap in the market by offering institutional investors a secure space in which to trade the alternative asset class. It describes DDEx as the world's first full-service digital asset exchange backed by a bank.


Write to Rthvika Suvarna at rthvika.suvarna@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-10-24 0125ET