Singapore’s largest financial institution by assets, DBS Group, announced Thursday its plans to launch a digital gold investment service for everyday customers as precious metal demand increases and Singapore works to establish itself as a major gold trading center.
The new service arrives while gold continues attracting investors seeking value protection despite recent market fluctuations. The precious metal reached an all-time high of $5,600 per ounce earlier this year due to inflation worries, international tensions, and market instability, though spot gold dropped to $4,111.95 on Wednesday, marking its lowest point since March 23 and representing a 27% decline from its peak.
The financial institution, which also holds the position as Southeast Asia’s largest bank, announced in a release that DBS Physical Gold Tokens will become accessible via its digibank mobile application during the latter half of 2026.
According to the bank, this service will mark Singapore’s first offering allowing everyday customers to digitally access, possess, and exchange tokenized physical gold using one unified platform.
The tokenization process involves converting ownership of tangible assets into digital tokens that can be electronically traded.
Every token will represent one gram of actual gold stored by DBS in a designated Singapore vault. As of Thursday, one gram of gold carries a value of approximately S$200 ($155).
The bank stated that customers will have the ability to purchase smaller gold quantities, conduct transactions continuously, and exchange tokens for actual gold.
“Gold as an asset class has taken off in recent years,” said James Tan, the bank’s group head of investment products and advisory services, adding that tokenization would allow more retail customers to invest in gold.
DBS indicated it is considering options to feature the token on its DBS Digital Exchange for qualified investors and institutional clients.
According to DBS, physical gold investments among its wealth management customers have increased by more than 100% during the previous three years.
