DBS to launch tokenized gold backed by physical bullion for retail investors

DBS Bank has announced plans to launch tokenized gold backed by physical bullion for retail customers in the second half of 2026, extending a tokenization strategy that already includes digital money market funds and stablecoin services.

According to a statement from Singapore’s largest lender, the new product, called DBS Physical Gold Tokens, will be offered through its digibank platform. The bank is also evaluating a future listing on DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), which currently serves accredited and institutional investors.

Each token will represent 1 gram of physical gold stored in a dedicated DBS vault in Singapore. The bank said it will oversee the issuance, distribution, management, and custody of the tokens through its own infrastructure.

Interest in physical gold has grown among the bank’s affluent clients over recent years. DBS said physical gold holdings in wealth portfolios have more than doubled during the past three years.

Retail gold access joins DBS tokenization push

Coming after a series of blockchain-based offerings, the planned launch adds another tokenized asset to the bank’s growing digital asset portfolio. In 2025, DBS tokenized structured notes on Ethereum and later partnered with Franklin Templeton and Ripple to bring tokenized money market fund products and stablecoin services to accredited and institutional investors through DDEx.

The initiative included the listing of Franklin Templeton’s sgBENJI token, which represents units of a tokenized U.S. dollar money market fund, alongside Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. 

Additional plans tied to the offering included allowing clients to use tokenized fund units as collateral for financing arrangements, including repo transactions and lending structures where DBS would act as custodian.

For retail investors, direct ownership of physical gold has traditionally been less accessible than investing through gold-related funds. 

“While our retail investors have been able to buy gold funds, access to physical gold has been largely available to only institutional and accredited investors,” said James Tan, head of investment products and advisory at DBS.

“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.”

With the rollout scheduled for the second half of 2026, the bank is bringing a physical asset that was largely reserved for wealth and institutional clients onto a platform accessible to retail customers through tokenization.