DBS Bank ethereum

Singapore’s Largest Bank Becomes a Major Ethereum Holder

Oxido Solutions’ crypto trading bots don’t just work for Bitcoin Perpetual Futures; they also handle Ethereum derivatives on Bybit, OKX, Binance, and many other top-tier crypto exchanges.

With a market cap of $200 billion, ETH has grown to become the 9th largest asset class globally and, like Bitcoin, seems here to stay. We closely follow the developments of Vitalik Buterin’s creation, and yesterday brought some interesting news.

Singapore’s largest bank, DBS Bank, has emerged as a major Ethereum (ETH) holder. On-chain analysis firm Nansen revealed that addresses linked to DBS Bank hold an impressive 173,753 Ethereum, valued at approximately $655 million, considering Ethereum’s market value of $3,782 per unit at press time.

“We’ve identified this $650 million ETH Whale holding 173.7k ETH as DBS, the largest bank in Singapore with assets totaling $739 billion as of December 31, 2023. This address has made over $200 million by holding ETH,” tweeted Nansen.

However, an X user named “kirbyong.sismo.eth” suggested that these ETH holdings might primarily represent client funds rather than direct investments by the bank. “DBS has a digital exchange for accredited investors which has been live for a while, it’s likely ETH held on behalf of these investors and not bank investments,” he wrote.

This revelation isn’t surprising, given DBS’s long-standing involvement in the cryptocurrency space. The bank has been a supporter of digital assets and has offered various services, including digital asset custody, a security token exchange, and portfolio management apps covering both traditional and cryptocurrency assets.

In 2021, the bank launched DDEx, a crypto trading platform focused on institutional investors, in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also gave the bank “in-principle” approval to provide cryptocurrency services. Reportedly, in 2022, the bank planned to launch a crypto exchange but shelved the plans following the collapse of FTX.

In July 2023, DBS added support for the digital yuan, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) launched by the People’s Bank of China. The bank’s digital yuan payment solution allows mainland Chinese businesses to accept payments in CBDC, automatically settling the payment into bank deposit accounts.

DBS’s significant Ethereum holdings align with the growing interest from institutional investors, including retail investors, high-net-worth traders, and hedge funds, especially after the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Singapore has been cooperating with global financial authorities in the digital currency field. In September 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements and the central banks of France and Switzerland, completed cross-border trading and settlement testing of wholesale central bank digital currencies.

The emergence of DBS as a major Ethereum holder highlights the increasing involvement of traditional financial institutions in the digital asset market. As the crypto community eagerly awaits the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in the U.S., it will be interesting to see how other financial institutions respond to this rapidly growing space.

The greater the adoption by institutional players, the higher the liquidity and the more capital that can be traded with Oxido SolutionsEthereum trading bots. Our bots perform well with low volatility, so the adoption of ETH by more banks could be financially beneficial for Oxido Solutions. Here’s hoping many banks follow DBS’s example.