DBS Bank has begun issuing tokenized structured notes on the Ethereum public blockchain, a step that opens these products to a wider pool of investors.
According to DBS, the move by Singapore’s largest lender shifts a product long kept for private clients into a market where trades can happen more easily and in smaller pieces.
Tokenization Lowers The Barrier
Structured notes normally carried a high minimum — about $100,000 — and were aimed at wealthy clients.
Based on reports, DBS will break the notes into $1,000 units. That change makes the securities more fungible and easier to trade, and it lets more accredited and institutional investors buy a slice without a large upfront sum.
Singapore’s largest bank, DBS, has announced the issuance of tokenized structured notes on the Ethereum public blockchain, available to qualified and institutional investors through local exchanges ADDX, DigiFT, and HydraX. The first product is a participatory note linked to…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 21, 2025
Ethereum Blockchain: Distribution Through Local Digital Exchanges
Reports have disclosed that DBS will distribute the tokenized notes via Singapore platforms ADDX, DigiFT, and HydraX.
The bank is extending access beyond its private banking clients. That means family offices and professional investors who were previously shut out can now take part, with trades routed through familiar, regulated outlets.
The first offering is a participation note tied to cryptocurrency markets. According to the bank, it pays cash returns when digital asset prices rise while including safeguards meant to curb losses during downturns.
Demand for hybrid products that mix Ethereum upside with downside protection has been building among cautious investors.
Trading Momentum And Family Office Growth
DBS clients already showed heavy interest in structured notes. In the first half of 2025, structured-note transactions by DBS clients exceeded $1 billion.
Activity sped up quickly, with volumes rising by over 50% from the first quarter to the second. Reports also point out that Singapore’s single-family office scene passed 2,000 by 2024, a 40% increase from the year before, and those offices have been among the more active buyers.
A Fit To Singapore’s Tokenization Push
The rollout ties into Singapore’s broader effort to make tokenized finance a real market. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is running Project Guardian to test tokenization across bonds, currencies, and funds, and a separate Global Layer One project looks at cross-border liquidity links.
DBS has run trials on private blockchains before, and moving some work to Ethereum signals a willingness to use public networks where appropriate.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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