HONG KONG - DBS Group said on Friday its private banking arm has started offering trust services for cryptocurrencies, helping rich clients include the emerging asset class in their succession plans.

This is the latest move into cryptocurrencies by Southeast Asia's largest bank, which late last year launched a cryptoexchange for institutional and other accredited investors. 

Several other banks around the world are cautiously starting to offer crypto-related services, often to their very wealthy clients, drawn by the recent surge in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin has risen more than 70% so far this year, even after volatility driven by a series of tweets by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

DBS said on Friday its trust subsidiary is offering private banking clients support for investing in, storing and managing digital assets for cryptcurrencies including the two largest, bitcoin and ether, and including these assets into their wealth succession plans.

"International regulations and protocols are still nascent in the digital asset space, which could give rise to complications or unnecessary confusion if proper measures are not in place to prevent them," said Lee Woon Shiu, regional head of family office, wealth planning and insurance solutions at DBS Private Bank, in a statement.

(Reporting by Alun John in Hong Kong Editing by Shri Navaratnam)