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DBS Bank,Singapores largest bank, is working on expanding its cryptocurrency exchange beyond its current investor base of institutional clients, according to the CEO.

DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta spoke of the banks cryptocurrency business during the Q4 2021 earnings call on Monday, stating that the company will focus on measures to further scale its crypto exchange operations in 2022.

During the call, Gupta was asked whether DBS Bank has a roadmap for rolling out digital asset trading to retail investors. While the CEO did not provide a straightforward answer, he still said that DBS Bank did initiate some work in order to expand its current investor base, stating:

He hinted that DBS Bank would not be able to proceed with retail support for its crypto exchange before completing that work, expecting to finalize related developments by the end of 2022. I think youre looking more like the end of the year before we can actually take something to market, Gupta noted.

According to Gupta, DBS Bank also expects to significantly boost its crypto trading platform either in the first half or in the first three quarters of this year. The bank specifically plans to make the access to the digital assets a lot more convenient by enabling instant online deposits and transactions without relying much on banking intermediaries, the CEO stated, adding:

Related: Singapore saw 13x jump in crypto investments in 2021: KPMG

As previously reported, DBS Bank made a massive move into the crypto industry in recent years, setting up its own institutional-grade crypto exchange in December 2020. The company has been actively extending the range of supported digital asset services on the exchange, launching a crypto trust solution in May 2021.

In August, DBS Banks brokerage arm, DBS Vickers, was granted approval from the Monetary Authority of Singaporeto provide digital payment token services as a payment institution.

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Singaporean megabank DBS works on expanding Bitcoin trading to retail - Cointelegraph