DBS Bank: TradFi and DeFi increasingly Go Hand in Hand

Evy Theunis highlighted at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week that DBS built its digital asset platform from the ground up in accordance with TradFi standards, including products for OTC trading as well as infrastructure for custody and institutional-level trading. Because DBS serves many digital-asset-native companies, the bank is seeing rising demand for products familiar from traditional finance—such as third-party collateral agreements, custody, agency security services, and tools for managing counterparty risk—adapted to the digital asset space. Evy Theunis is Head of Digital Assets at the Institutional Banking Group of DBS Bank in Singapore. She oversees the bank’s digital asset client segment and leads the development and implementation of the digital asset strategy for institutional clients. Since joining DBS in 2015, Theunis has played a key role in building the bank’s digital offering for wealth clients. In 2019, she became Regional Head of Customer Segment and Customer Science, where she drove scalable business growth in the consumer bank through digitalisation, data, and AI. Today, she leads DBS’s institutional digital asset initiatives, drawing on nearly a decade of experience in the field. Blockchain technology draws attention Theunis noted that there is «a strong mutual learning dynamic between digital-native companies and traditional financial institutions.» Many established firms are increasingly approaching DBS to understand how they can use blockchain technologies to prepare for the «next generation» of financial services and to understand the associated technological and operational risks—areas in which DBS has built experience since 2016. Regarding market trends, Theunis observed that a buy-and-hold mentality dominated in 2023–2024, whereas 2025 shows a strong increase in trading activity, particularly in Asia, where clients prefer active trading. «The 24/7 nature of digital asset markets reinforces this trend. DBS now offers clients both spot trading and structured products, including options and notes with flexible settlement—such as Bitcoin delivery or cash settlement—for tailored exposure,” said the digital-assets expert. DeFi as a diversification tool When asked how wealthy clients classify digital assets, she emphasised that most are not crypto natives but traditional entrepreneurs or business owners. Theunis: «For them, digital assets represent a portfolio allocation, not a core position—typically a way to diversify capital, gain exposure to a new asset class, or hedge against broader macroeconomic risks.» The fourth edition of the ADFW Finance Week in Abu Dhabi, organised by the financial centre ADGM in Abu Dhabi, UAE, runs until Thursday, December 11; finews is the official media partner.