Tag: Bitcoin

Singapore – Banking giant DBS has announced its foray into cryptocurrency, offering over-the-counter cryptocurrency options trading and structured notes for eligible institutional investors and accredited wealth clients.

This makes the Singapore-based bank the first Asian-headquartered bank to offer financial products whose value is linked to the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum – the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation.

From Q4 2024 onwards, eligible clients seeking to build exposure to the asset class may do so through options trading and structured notes. Depending on the product’s structure and cryptocurrency price movements, clients may earn yield on fiat or take delivery of the underlying cryptocurrency.

Moreover, eligible clients custodising Bitcoin and Ethereum with DBS may also hedge their positions against market volatility and potentially earn yield through various options structures. 

For instance, a client seeking to manage the inherent volatility of Bitcoin may buy a put option, which gives the client the right to sell Bitcoin at a fixed price at a future date, even if Bitcoin prices fall below the fixed price by that future date.

Jacky Tai, group head of trading and structuring of global financial markets at DBS, said, “Professional investors are increasingly allocating to digital assets in their portfolios. Underpinned by DBS’ strong credit ratings and longstanding expertise in structuring solutions, these financial products are an expansion of the bank’s value proposition to provide clients trusted institutional-grade access to the digital asset ecosystem. 

She added, “Now, our clients have an alternative channel to build exposure to the asset class and incorporate advanced investment strategies to better manage their digital asset portfolios.”

Currently, clients build their digital asset portfolios with DBS by trading cryptocurrencies and security tokens via DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx). Said digital exchange recently reported that the value of digital assets traded on the exchange nearly tripled in Singapore dollar terms as compared to the same time in 2023. 

Hong Kong — Hong Kong has been at the forefront of uncertain sovereign issues, and like countries under such a critical situation, some of its citizens have resorted to investing into alternative assets as a hedge against inflation or subsiding of centralized finance. According to a key finding from a report entitled ‘The Future of Financial Services Report 2022’ by YouGov, most citizens are aware of the existence of cryptocurrency, or 3 out of 5 Hongkongers, but only 20% actually own cryptocurrency.

On the other hand, other key findings from the report reveal that the underlying reason for owning cryptocurrency is most likely as a form of investment. Additionally, Bitcoin, the undisputed forerunner of cryptocurrency, is the most widely owned asset. It is most most popular with Gen X at 71% ownership. Additionally, those ages 55 years old and above are less than likely to be aware of cryptocurrency, with half of them stating they’ve never heard of it.

The report notes that citizens ages 35-44 in Hong Kong are most likely to own cryptocurrency, at 32%, followed by ages 18-34 at ownership rate of 28%. Those in ages 45-54 years old say only 20% of them own crypto, while only 6% of citizens ages 55 years old and above own the asset.

For the top three benefits of cryptocurrency, 70% said it is for investment; 27% reported as convenient way to transfer money; and 20% claimed they used it as a cash to purchase products.

Finally, the top three cryptocurrencies owned by Hongkongers are Bitcoin at 59%, Ethereum at 39%, and Dogecoin at 22%. Hongkongers aged 45-54 are more likely to own Bitcoin, while those aged 35-44 are more likely to own Ethereum. Surprisingly, Hongkongers aged 35-44 are more likely to own the popular meme coin, Dogecoin. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Goobat, a Malaysian-based pharmaceutical technology company, is now accepting the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as a mode of payment on its e-commerce Goobat.care. 

Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency founded in 2009, has risen its validity within the financial market earning its spot as an acceptable new store of value. 

“There is a growing number of cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Malaysia. In fact, we have listened and learned that there is an increasing demand from consumers calling for the acceptance of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a payment option and so, we believe this is a step in the right direction,” said Asher Looi, co-founder of Goobat.

He added, “Numerous central banks have been reported to begin exploring and adopting these cryptocurrencies. As part of the retail industry, we feel it is important and timely to educate the public that Bitcoin transactions are safe, and that users will still have full control of their money in their wallets,” pointing out that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the future of finance.

Bitcoin payments through the Goobat.care web store will be powered by US-based cryptocurrency clearing gateway Bitpay.

The existence of the Goobat.care e-commerce is a response to the local issue of some pharmacies in sub-urban areas that may not have full access of the much-needed medications. Further, due to the lack of economy of scale, these outlets would tend to retail products at steeper prices.

“When we set up Goobat.care, we wanted to ensure that we could help suburban consumers find what they need. So now we have more than 3,000 products online to offer, at affordable prices,” Looi added.

The Goobat.care e-commerce site.

Once a transaction is completed on Goobat.care, Klang Valley customers can choose to receive their products by Goobat.care’s 3-Hour Express Delivery, or opt for the Standard Delivery option. The latter is available to customers nationwide. 

Goobat also assures that it will provide special handling for some products that may be temperature sensitive, or can be affected by changes in humidity like probiotics and other medicines. By the end of January this year, Goobat plans to introduce a mobile app and incorporate more languages into its platform.

“We integrate the Big Data concept into the core of all touchpoints. Our end goal is to build an artificial intelligence (AI) model in the future to serve our clients better. In the long run, this AI model will serve to identify risk groups based on their [consumption] patterns, or buying patterns of Goobat.care, and we will offer personalized supplements suggestions to our consumers,” he added.