Analysts turn bullish as banking giant DBS prepares to open the floodgates to crypto

Singapore’s megabank DBS manages $500 billion in assets and plans to launch a retail crypto trading desk before the end of 2022. The bank revealed plans in an earnings call on February 14, 2022. 

DBS plans to offer retail cryptocurrency trading by the end of 2022

Southeast Asia’s largest bank DBS has revealed plans to launch a digital assets trading desk for retail customers. The bank launched a trading desk for institutions in 2021 and announced its plan to serve retail crypto traders in 2022. 

Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS, said, 

We are starting the initial work to expand it beyond the current investor base. And that includes the appropriate thinking about suitability and the potential for fraud… we are looking for an end-of-year [launch] to take something to market.

Retail users of DBS currently call their bankers to place orders for cryptocurrencies; however, the bank plans to automate and introduce a self-service option. Users may be able to withdraw funds to their cryptocurrency wallets. 

Banking giants like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan have shared a bullish outlook on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in 2022, paving the way for institutional capital inflow in BTC. Analysts have noted a spike in the active users on the Bitcoin blockchain, a catalyst for the BTC price rally. 

FXStreet analysts have evaluated the Bitcoin price trend and predicted an explosive breakout in BTC. Analysts argue that Bitcoin’s downside risks were limited going into the weekend. Bitcoin price could continue trading sideways or come down to $42,600. 

Analysts believe that Bitcoin's price is not very far from initiating another Ichimoku breakout. Ichimoku is an indicator used by day traders to identify resistance and support in cryptocurrency charts. The indicator is used to determine momentum and trend direction. Analysts expect Bitcoin price to break into a massive rally based on the indicator.