Dubai has officially launched the region’s first government-backed tokenised real estate investment platform, enabling people to purchase digital shares in physical properties through a secure, regulated online system.
Developed by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in collaboration with Prypco, Ctrl Alt, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the UAE Central Bank and the Dubai Future Foundation, the initiative marks a significant step toward modernising property investment through blockchain-based technology.
The new platform, Prypco Mint, is now live in its pilot phase and enables UAE residents to invest in selected real estate projects starting from AED2,000 (approximately $545). Each investment represents a fractional ownership stake in a property, recorded as a digital token. The platform runs on blockchain technology but processes all pilot-phase transactions in UAE Dirhams, without involving cryptocurrencies.
Ctrl Alt, the project’s tokenisation infrastructure partner, issues the ownership tokens on the XRP Ledger, an open-source public blockchain originally developed with contributions from Ripple. The team selected the platform for its suitability in asset tokenisation and its compatibility with regulatory frameworks.
Ctrl Alt also developed the tools to mint these tokens and integrate them with Dubai’s official property registry, creating a digital record that aligns with legal title ownership.
Projections
Dubai Land Department projects that the initiative will help grow a tokenised real estate market worth AED60 billion ($16billion) by 2033, accounting for around seven per cent of the city’s total property transactions.
Matt Ong, CEO and founder at Ctrl Alt, said: “We’ve been working closely with the DLD on this project for some time, and we’re delighted to be taking this major step together to bring real estate investment to a wider audience.
“As experts in the space, we are proud to create the tokenisation infrastructure that enables DLD’s partners to offer fractional real estate to investors. Dubai’s leadership in embracing next-generation financial technologies is truly world-class and this project is a powerful signal of what’s to come.”
