DBS bank reports 4X growth in Bitcoin buys on DDEx exchange in June

A major cryptocurrency selloff in June 2022 has sparked more interest in Bitcoin (BTC) from institutional investors, according to data from one of the biggest banks in Singapore.

The total number of trades on DDEx more than doubled in June 2022 as compared to April 2022 amid the growing investor appetite for digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether (ETH). Buy orders on DDEx accounted for 90% of all trades in June as cryptocurrencies traded at notable discounts in mid-2022, DBS said.

Compared to April 2022, the amount of Bitcoin purchased on DDEx in June saw a fourfold increase, while the quantity of ETH grew 65%, DBS reported.

“With the digital asset industry experiencing unprecedented volatility, investors who believe in the long-term prospects of digital assets are gravitating towards trusted and regulated platforms,” the bank said in the statement.

According to DDEx CEO Lionel Lim, the digital asset industry has seen a “great reset” as the investment narrative has been moving away from chasing for yield. “Investors today are instead seeking out safe harbours to trade and store their digital assets amid the ongoing market volatility,” Lim noted.

Related: Summer doldrums? Crypto volumes are down 55%, according to CoinShares

As previously reported, June 2022 became the worst month for the Bitcoin price since September 2011, as its monthly losses mounted to 40%, with price tumbling below $20,000. The ongoing crypto winter has been largely attributed to the crisis of algorithmic stablecoins and the subsequent catastrophe in cryptocurrency lending as crypto lenders ran out of liquidity.

“Every participant needs to respect the risks involved and the fact that there are no bailouts in the space, so if a borrower fails to repay, a lender has to accept their loss. There is no risk-free yield, and often the yield is not worth the risks,” Trezor crypto analyst Josef Tětek said.