Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), its asset management arm Lion Global Investors, and regulated digital asset exchange DigiFT have jointly launched a tokenized physical gold fund, marking the first time such a product has been made available on a public blockchain in Southeast Asia. The product, branded as GOLDX, represents a significant institutional foray into on-chain real-world assets (RWAs).
The OCBC-LionGlobal Physical Gold Fund Token (GOLDX) is issued on both the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Through the DigiFT platform, institutional investors—including banks, hedge funds, asset managers, and corporate accredited investors—can subscribe using stablecoins or fiat currencies. Tokens are delivered directly to investors' blockchain wallets and are redeemable for stablecoin or fiat upon exit.
The launch is anchored by three Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-regulated entities: OCBC, Lion Global Investors, and DigiFT. This structure is designed to provide institutional-grade governance, risk management controls, and transparent, verifiable asset backing, while leveraging the efficiency and interoperability of public blockchain infrastructure.
The underlying asset is the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold Fund, which has seen rapid adoption. Amid persistent geopolitical and economic uncertainties, the fund recorded S$669.4 million (approximately $525.9 million) in assets under management as of April 16, 2026, just four months after its initial launch in December 2025.
OCBC led the structuring and commercial framework for the GOLDX token issuance, while Lion Global Investors provided the investment framework and governance for the underlying fund. "Our focus is on bridging traditional finance with the emerging world of decentralised finance," said Kenneth Lai, Head of Global Markets at OCBC. "By bringing real-world assets on-chain — like we have done with this token — we aim to enable stablecoin capital to be invested in these assets while maintaining the standards and safeguards expected by investors."
The token is expected to attract demand from Web3 ecosystem participants, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals in Asia who hold significant capital in stablecoins. Steven Hu, OCBC's Head of Digital Assets, noted on LinkedIn that this milestone reflects a broader shift where public blockchain ecosystems are entering the mainstream, with institutions like OCBC actively participating.
The launch occurs as the tokenized RWA market scales rapidly. Data from rwa.xyz indicates the total value of tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains surpassed $29 billion in April 2026, representing over a 10% increase in the preceding 30 days. This follows a meteoric rise from an estimated $1.89 billion in January 2024 to over $18.23 billion by January 2026, according to Allium.
