Dubai Enables Secondary Market for Tokenized Real Estate
The Dubai Land Department is launching Phase II of its Real Estate Tokenization Project, which enables secondary-market resales of tokenized property. The initiative is viewed as a key regulatory milestone for the real-world asset (RWA) sector. By creating a regulated secondary market, the project aims to increase liquidity and attract more investors to the asset class.
- The project utilizes the XRP Ledger for issuing ownership tokens, with Ctrl Alt serving as the tokenization infrastructure partner and Ripple Custody securing the on-chain assets. - Phase II makes approximately 7.8 million real estate tokens available for trading on the secondary market, which launched on February 20, 2026. - The initiative is a collaboration between the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the UAE Central Bank, and the Dubai Future Foundation. - The platform, Prypco Mint, allows for a minimum investment of AED 2,000 (approximately $545), and all transactions in the pilot phase are processed in UAE Dirhams, not cryptocurrencies. - Dubai's government projects that the tokenized real estate market could be worth AED 60 billion ($16 billion) by 2033, accounting for about 7% of the city's total property transactions. - The initial pilot phase, which focused on the regulatory and technical foundations for tokenizing property directly on title deeds, began in March under the REES Real Estate Innovation Initiative. - During the pilot phase, some properties sold out in under two minutes, attracting investors from over 50 nationalities. - This tokenization project is a key component of Dubai's broader economic goals, including the Dubai Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033 and the UAE Vision 2071.
