Singapore’s Largest Bank Now Issues Tokenized Notes on Ethereum - Here’s Why It Matters

Traditional finance meets decentralized future as Singapore's banking giant bridges worlds.

Breaking New Ground

Ethereum just became the backbone for tokenized notes from Singapore's largest financial institution—bypassing legacy systems that haven't evolved since spreadsheet banking dominated finance. The move signals that even established players recognize blockchain's efficiency over traditional settlement layers.

Why This Shakes Banking

This isn't just another pilot program. It represents institutional validation of Ethereum's capability to handle real-world assets at scale—while cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that typically slows financial innovation to a crawl. The bank chose public blockchain over private alternatives, acknowledging Ethereum's security and network effects.

Finance's Cynical Reality Check

Meanwhile, traditional banks still charge fees for wire transfers that take three business days to clear—proving once again that innovation happens despite legacy finance, not because of it. Ethereum's public ledger now handles what used to require layers of middlemen and paperwork.

The bottom line? When Singapore's largest bank builds on Ethereum, it's not experimenting—it's migrating.

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.

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.

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