DBS Bank is tokenising structured notes on the Ethereum public blockchain, making them available to eligible investors through third-party platforms ADDX, DigiFT and HydraX.
This marks the bank’s first distribution of tokenised products to non-DBS clients.
The initiative comes as Singapore strengthens its position as a wealth management hub.
The number of single family offices in the city-state exceeded 2,000 in 2024, a 43 percent increase from the year before.
Structured notes usually require a minimum investment of US$100,000, but tokenisation breaks them into US$1,000 units that are identical and easier to trade.
DBS said this format improves fungibility and allows investors to manage portfolios with greater flexibility and resilience during market volatility.
The first product will be cash-settled cryptocurrency-linked participation notes.
These provide cash payouts when cryptocurrency prices rise and are structured to reduce potential losses if prices fall.
Demand for such instruments has been strong, with DBS clients executing more than US$1 billion worth of trades in the first half of 2025, and volumes rising nearly 60 percent between the first and second quarters.
Beyond cryptocurrency-linked notes, DBS also plans to tokenise equity-linked and credit-linked notes.
Li Zhen, Head of Foreign Exchange and Digital Assets, Global Financial Markets, DBS, said,
“Asset tokenisation is the next frontier of financial markets infrastructure. Since 2021, DBS has been active in scaling this ecosystem by fostering responsible innovation, enabling tokenisation to meet real market demand and make financial markets more efficient and accessible.
By leveraging DBS’ strong credit ratings, partnerships and capabilities, more investors can now tap our solutions to better manage their portfolios. Our first tokenised product, a crypto-linked note, also addresses the growing institutional appetite for digital assets. With this initiative, a broader segment of investors can now tap our digital asset ecosystem to build exposure to the asset class.”
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by masaideeabdulkoday70 via Freepik
