The initiative increases accessibility and flexibility for investors while expanding exposure to digital assets through digital investment platforms.
DBS, the largest retail and commercial bank in Singapore, is set to tokenize structured notes on Ethereum, the bank announced Thursday. The offerings will be distributed through partnering digital investment platforms, starting with ADDX, DigiFT, and HydraX.
Structured notes are financial instruments that combine a bond with a derivative, giving investors bond-like protection with returns tied to an underlying asset. They are typically used to balance safety with market-linked upside, but carry complexity and issuer credit risk.
With the planned rollout, DBS aims to leverage its expertise in tokenization and partnerships with third-party digital platforms to expand investor access to sophisticated financial instruments. The move follows the launch of DBS Token Services, a suite of blockchain-powered banking solutions for institutional clients, last year.
For its initial token distribution, DBS will offer cash-settled crypto-linked participation notes across third-party digital platforms. The notes provide investors with cash payouts when crypto prices rise, enabling exposure to digital assets without direct crypto management.
DBS reports strong demand for crypto-linked structured notes and options, with clients executing more than $1 billion in trades in the first half of 2025. Trading volumes in these instruments jumped nearly 60% between the first and second quarters.
The bank also plans to expand to other structured note types, such as those tied to credit or equity.
Discussing the future of financial markets, Li Zhen, Head of Foreign Exchange and Digital Assets at DBS, called asset tokenization the next frontier of infrastructure.
“Since 2021, DBS has been active in scaling this ecosystem by fostering responsible innovation, enabling tokenization to meet real market demand and make financial markets more efficient and accessible,” Zhen added.
DBS has actively embraced blockchain technology and digital assets. The bank has collaborated with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and other partners to advance the digital asset ecosystem in the country.
The initiative comes amid Singapore’s rapid growth as a global wealth hub, with family offices and professional investors increasingly seeking digital asset solutions.
