The Dubai Land Bureau (DLD), a government agency in the real estate industry, has launched a real estate tokenization pilot programme and claims it is the first real estate registry in the Middle East to use blockchain technology for property title deeds.
This initiative was developed using the Digital Assets WatchDog Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF). The project coincides with Dubai’s 2033 real estate strategy and broader efforts to strengthen its position as a global technology hub.
The division predicted that tokenized property could account for 7% of the city’s total property transactions, reaching 60 billion Dirhams ($16 billion) by 2033.
Dubai’s push to become real estate tokens reflects the growth trend of integrating blockchain into traditional markets and placing real-world assets (RWAs) such as crypto rail bonds, funds and credits.
The digital token version of RWAS is fractionally owned and transferred on the blockchain, lowering the entry barrier for investors and increasing market liquidity. Unlike crowdfunding, where investor funding is pooled for property purchases, tokenization offers a more structured ownership model. However, last year, the McKinsey Tokenization Report listed real estate as one of the classes that could face slower growth tokenization adoption due to operational hurdles.
DLD Executive Director Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita said the initiative “simplifies and strengthens the buying and selling process” in local real estate.
