DBS to launch tokenised physical gold for retail customers in Singapore

[SINGAPORE] DBS announced on Thursday (Jun 11) that tokenised physical gold will be made available to retail customers in Singapore in the second half of 2026.

The DBS Physical Gold Token, which will be accessible through the DBS digibank app, is the first such offering in the Republic that enables retail investors to digitally access, hold and trade tokenised physical gold through a single platform.

Each token is backed by 1 g of physical gold held by DBS in a dedicated vault in Singapore. DBS said that it will tokenise, issue, distribute and manage the physical gold tokens entirely in-house.

The bank noted that customers will have the option to redeem their tokens for physical gold. It is also exploring plans to list the token on the DBS Digital Exchange, which is tailored for accredited investors and institutional partners.

This move comes as the assets under management of physical gold holdings in DBS wealth clients’ portfolios more than doubled over the past three years, said the bank.

It also follows the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore Bullion Market Association’s announcement in March that they are working to strengthen Singapore’s position as a gold trading hub.

“DBS has offered physical gold investments to wealth clients since 2013, and we are now leveraging tokenisation to broaden access, enabling more retail customers to invest in gold in a safe and meaningful way,” noted James Tan, group head of investment product and advisory at DBS.

He added that while DBS’ retail investors have been able to buy gold funds, access to physical gold has been largely available to only institutional and accredited investors.

Currently, UOB offers retail investors both physical and paper gold, while OCBC offers paper gold. Meanwhile, all three local banks offer gold-linked investments via their digital banking platforms.

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In April, the OCBC-LionGlobal Physical Gold Fund Token was launched for institutional investors – including banks, hedge funds and asset managers – as well as corporate accredited investors.

Gold peaked near US$5,500 an ounce in January before retreating in March, as its safe-haven appeal gave way to liquidity needs amid the Middle East conflict. The yellow metal hit a more than six-month low on Thursday morning, as fresh US strikes on Iran drove oil prices higher.

DBS’ gold token can be accessed on a 24/7 basis and enables fractional ownership for customers to purchase, trade and hold smaller amounts of physical gold in the form of tokens.

In 2025, DBS expanded its blockchain capabilities by tokenising structured notes on the Ethereum public blockchain and offering it to eligible investors on third-party digital investment platforms and digital exchanges.

Additionally, DBS listed sgBenji, the token of Franklin Templeton’s tokenised money market fund, alongside the Ripple USD stablecoin, enabling eligible DBS clients to rebalance their portfolios 24/7 while earning yield during periods of volatility.