DBS Bank to Offer Tokenized Physical Gold to Retail Customers in Singapore

DBS Bank, Singapore's largest lender by assets, plans to offer tokenized physical gold to retail customers through its digibank app in the second half of 2026. Each DBS Physical Gold Token will be backed by one gram of gold held in a dedicated bank vault in Singapore.

DBS announced the product Thursday, describing it as the first offering in Singapore to let retail customers digitally access, hold and trade tokenized physical gold on a single platform. One gram of gold was worth roughly S$200 (about $155) at the time of the announcement, per Reuters. Customers will be able to buy fractional amounts, trade around the clock, settle near-instantly through atomic settlement, and redeem tokens for physical bullion, per DBS.

In-House Stack

DBS will handle the entire chain itself: tokenization, issuance, distribution, and custody, all through its own bank-grade infrastructure, the bank said. DBS is also exploring a listing on the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), a platform currently serving accredited investors and institutional partners.

Physical gold holdings among DBS wealth clients have more than doubled over the past three years, per the announcement.

"Gold as an asset class has taken off in recent years," said James Tan, DBS group head of investment products and advisory services, in the bank's announcement. "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."

Singapore's Tokenized-Gold Race

DBS enters behind rival OCBC, Singapore's second-largest bank, which launched its GOLDX tokenized gold fund in April 2026 in partnership with Lion Global Investors and DigiFT. GOLDX runs on Ethereum and Solana and targets institutional and accredited investors rather than the mass retail segment DBS is pursuing.

Gold hit an all-time high of $5,600 per ounce earlier this year before pulling back to roughly $4,100 per ounce, per Reuters. The tokenized gold product fits a broader real-world asset (RWA) tokenization wave that has pushed on-chain RWA value past $30 billion globally.

DBS has not disclosed the blockchain underpinning the gold tokens, pricing for the app product, or a specific launch date within H2 2026.