DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest lender, plans to offer tokenized physical gold to retail customers through its digibank platform in the second half of 2026. The new product, called DBS Physical Gold Tokens, will allow retail investors to buy and trade digital tokens each backed by 1 gram of physical gold stored in a dedicated DBS vault in Singapore.
The launch extends DBS’s tokenization strategy, which already includes structured notes tokenized on Ethereum and partnership with Franklin Templeton and Ripple to offer tokenized money market fund units and the RLUSD stablecoin on the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx). DBS is also evaluating a future listing of the gold token on DDEx, a platform currently serving accredited and institutional investors.
According to James Tan, DBS’s head of investment products and advisory, physical gold investments have been available to wealth clients since 2013, but retail access was largely limited to gold funds. 'We are now leveraging tokenisation to broaden access, enabling more retail customers to invest in gold in a safe and meaningful way,' Tan said.
The bank highlighted that physical gold holdings among its wealth clients have more than doubled over the past three years, reflecting strong demand. With the tokenized product, DBS aims to lower the entry barrier, allowing 24/7 trading and redemption for physical gold, while keeping custody and issuance under a regulated banking structure.
The move aligns with Singapore’s push to become a regulated hub for both gold trading and digital assets, testing whether tokenized real-world assets can be distributed through mainstream banking channels.
