Dubai has become the first city in the Middle East to implement government backed real estate tokenization, with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) launching its pilot platform through Prypco Mint. The real world asset (RWA) tokenization initiative involves putting property deeds on a blockchain, allowing investors to purchase fractional shares in Dubai properties starting from AED 2,000 ($545). The project operates through a strategic partnership between Dubai Land, Prypco, and Ctrl Alt Solutions, with regulatory oversight from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and the Central Bank of the UAE.
The platform currently serves UAE ID holders exclusively but plans to expand globally in future phases. All transactions are conducted in UAE Dirhams rather than cryptocurrencies during this pilot stage. The tokenization infrastructure utilizes the XRP Ledger blockchain.
One of the partners is Prypco, which runs a popular Dubai real estate app that aims to democratize access to real estate. The other is tokenization startup Ctrl Alt, founded in the UK and also a participant in the UK's Digital Securities Sandbox alongside trillion dollar asset manager SEI. The company has tokenized over $295 million in assets across various sectors as of May 2025.
Ctrl Alt has integrated directly with the Dubai Land to synchronize both digital and traditional real estate ledgers, ensuring coordination between the on-chain and the conventional property registration system. This integration creates what officials describe as a fully transparent tokenization process that aligns with local regulations while maintaining investor confidence.
Dubai Land has embraced blockchain for years, launching a blockchain based mortgage registration system back in 2019. The latest initiative aligns with Dubai's Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033 and the Dubai Economic Agenda, both prioritizing digital solutions to enhance economic competitiveness. Dubai Land highlighted market projections that tokenized assets could represent up to 7% of Dubai's real estate market by 2033, equivalent to AED 60 billion ($16 billion) in value.
In other related news, over the weekend the head of the Qatar Financial Centre also proposed tokenizing Qatar high rises.