The testing was part of Project Guardian, which is a collaborative initiative between MAS and companies from the private sector such as JP Morgan, DBS, and Marketnode. The test involved the purchase of tokenised versions of Singapore Government Securities, Singapore Dollars, Japanese Government Bonds, and Japanese Yen, and the trades were enabled by an automated market marker (AMM), which allows for the automatic execution of buy and sell transactions using smart contracts.
Officials from DBS stated in the company press release that this test lays the groundwork for building global, institutional liquidity pools. According to the same official, the current protocol for foreign exchange and government securities trading relies on transacting in Over-the-Counter markets and involves multiple intermediaries before the trade is carried out.
Using blockchain for currency exchange and securities trading eliminates the need for such intermediaries, which means that trades can be carried out instantly. According to vulcanpost.com, Singapore is one of the largest foreign exchange centres in the world. In this context, the usage of blockchain technology to carry out trades stands to significantly improve trading for investors.
In September 2022, DBS has partnered The Sandbox, which is a decentralised gaming virtual world and subsidiary of Animoca Brands. The partnership resulted in DBS Better World, an interactive metaverse experience that highlights the importance of building a better, more sustainable world.
According to vulcanpost.com, DBS was the first bank in Singapore to make a foray into the metaverse. As part of the collaboration, DBS will acquire a plot of LAND, a unit of virtual real estate in The Sandbox metaverse, in order to develop it with immersive elements.
In the same month, DBS revealed its plans to expand its digital exchange and offer services to more of its 300,000 wealthy clients in Asia. According to one of the bank’s executives, the crypto market downturn proved that established and regulated financial institutions, rather than just start-ups, should be offering products such as digital asset trading for retail investors.
The same official highlighted that the bank has less than 1,000 members on the exchange but would soon offer the service to 300,000 of its wealthy clients across Asia including private banks, accredited investors, other exchanges, and funds through its DBS mobile banking app.
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