DBS Group Holdings Ltd plans to apply for a license to allow it to offer crypto to Hong Kong customers as the Chinese territory pushes to become a hub for digital assets.
“We are planning to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that the bank could sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers,” said Sebastian Paredes, chief executive of DBS Bank (Hong Kong), at a briefing in Hong Kong on Monday.
Hong Kong is pushing to attract digital assets businesses, and Financial Secretary Paul Chan last month said the city remains committed to becoming a regional crypto hub.
DBS has a digital exchange in Singapore and last year widened access to its crypto trading service. The city-state has taken a more cautious approach to the industry after last year’s slump pummeled stalwarts such as the Three Arrows Capital hedge fund and crypto lender Hodlnaut.
The bank welcomes the policies in Hong Kong, and is also “very sensitive” of the risks associated with digital assets, said Paredes.
When the regulations in Hong Kong are clear, and the bank “understands exactly the framework,” DBS will be one of the lenders interested in participating, said Paredes.
