DBS to Launch Tokenised Physical Gold for Retail Customers in Singapore

DBS, Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, announced on June 11, 2026 that it will launch DBS Physical Gold Tokens through its digibank app in the second half of 2026, marking the first offering in Singapore allowing retail customers to digitally access, hold, and trade tokenised physical gold on a single platform. Each token will be backed by one gram of physical gold held in a dedicated DBS vault in Singapore, worth approximately S$200 (US$155) at launch, enabling fractional ownership and 24/7 trading. DBS will tokenise, issue, distribute, and manage the tokens entirely in-house, and is also exploring listing them on its DBS Digital Exchange for accredited investors and institutional partners. Separately, OCBC Bank began offering wealthy and ultra-high-net-worth clients the ability to buy and store physical gold bars — either 1-kilogram or 400-troy-ounce bars — with each bar individually allocated and identified by serial number. OCBC's Bank of Singapore arm reported that gold bullion holdings under a previous arrangement had risen more than 40% since the end of 2025, reflecting strong client demand for locally held bullion. These moves follow a March 2026 announcement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Bullion Market Association outlining plans to strengthen Singapore's role as a gold trading hub. Gold prices surged to a record US$5,600 per ounce earlier in 2026 before retreating to around US$4,112 by mid-June, a 27% decline from the peak.