Tokenized real estate continues to evolve from niche experiments to serious infrastructure.
A recent Deloitte report predicts that the tokenized real estate market could reach $4 trillion by 2035. The numbers are huge, but they remain a bucket drop compared to the $658 trillion size of the global real estate industry.
The paper for tokenizing real estate is simple. Blockchain can modernize the way ownership tracking, access to assets, and the way capital flows across the market. Real estate is as “real world” as it gets, and volume is spoken when we see tokenization reconstructing the world’s largest asset class.
We spoke with Teddy Pornprinya, co-founder of Plume Network, to understand what it takes to actually support this transformation. Plume is working on infrastructure layers that help you create tokenized real estate and other real-world assets that are scalable, compliant and accessible.
In our conversation, Pornprinya discusses the challenges of cross-chain interoperability, regulatory complexity, and user trust, while explaining how plumes are built for both institutional adoption and retail access. Here’s our complete Q&A.
Crypto.News: Deloitte’s report predicts $4 trillion in real estate will be tokenized by 2035, just 10 years away. Is Plume’s infrastructure ready to expand to meet that level of asset tokenization? Can you comment on some of the technical hurdles you face (i.e. latency, network capacity, throughput) you are facing, and how will it be addressed to become a facility-grade platform with such volumes?
Teddy Pornprinya: The scale of this tokenization falls under the Plume Arc initiative. To support such volumes, we have built a compliance first infrastructure. It integrates directly with licensing partners for compliance and on-chain workflows. These integrations provide jurisdictional flexibility, ensuring that assets are subservient and mounted, whether originating in the US or abroad.
The tokenization process itself is managed through a workflow engine that simplifies asset onboarding for teams new to on-chain mechanics. On the infrastructure side, it already has engine grade products such as BlackRock, Blackstone, and PIMCO REITS through nest applications. We also actively collaborate with New York institutional partners, including Apollo. Our infrastructure already supports tokenized institutional assets and we are confident that we can expand as demand accelerates.
CN: Deloitte breaks down the tokenized real estate market into three segments: private real estate funds, tokenized loans/securitization, and tokenized undeveloped projects. Which of these areas is the plume network that focuses first, and how will that choice form a product roadmap for the next few years? Are you planning on covering all these segments (or extending to other asset classes) in the end? If so, how do you sequence those extensions?
TP: Yes, we are built to support a wide range of real-world assets, including private real estate funds, tokenized loans, securitization, and more speculative or undeveloped assets. The flexibility of the system allows you to operate your project at every stage, from start to complete market preparation.
For example, private equity funds in Texas have helped to tokenize mineral assets, traditionally an offline segment. For more developed players, we focus on scaling distributions. Our model is end-to-end. It supports token creation, compliance, access to liquidity and market presence.
CN: When more real-world assets are tokenized, Deloitte points out the need to achieve interoperability across protocols. How does plume networks allow for cross-chain interoperability of tokenized assets?
TP: Yes, our approach is to not rely on plume blockchain. Our Skylink products, built in collaboration with Layerzero, allow you to send out yields and assets on the plume and create representations of those assets in other chains such as Solana, SUI, and Injective.
With Skylink, end users of other blockchains do not need to interact directly with plumes or use complex bridges. They can simply deposit stubcoins into a local safe, and we handle the backend process, bridge the funds to the plume, manage tokenization, and ultimately redeem them into a chain of users. This creates a seamless omnichine RWA experience and unlocks new possibilities across the fragmented blockchain ecosystem.
CN: I have read about new on-chain structures like real estate trust deeds that hold property in neutral third-party trusts until the debt is paid back, and have effectively embedded legal contracts into blockchain tokens. Does Plume Network incorporate real-time compliance and legal enforcement into its platform design? For example, can Smart Contracts automatically enforce KYC/AML checks, investor certification restrictions, and jurisdiction-specific regulations as each transaction occurs?
TP: Absolutely. Real-time compliance is central to the institutional approach. Compliance mechanisms have been integrated directly into smart contracts and token standards. It supports both ERC-20 and ERC-3643 token standards, depending on the asset type and regulatory requirements.
This ensures compliance is enforced continuously across all transactions or transfers, not just onboarding levels, providing the level of security and auditability the agency needs.
CN: What is Plume Networks’ strategy to distinguish yourself in this burgeoning market? And how do you compete with both crypto-native platforms and traditional asset managers considering tokens for assets?
TP: Rather than competing with them, we often act as enablers. Traditional asset managers and protocols from cryptographic origins come to us for distribution and infrastructure. We offer a complete stack: compliance onboarding, asset issuance, liquidity sourcing, and access to your network.
What really stands out is the ability to combine on-chain execution with agency-grade compliance with market capabilities. We help them find the market through chaining assets and building stories that don’t usually work out in community engagement, token design, and existing protocols.
CN: Tokenization promises to democratize investment, but retail participation in real estate has historically been limited. What are the main friction points that prevent daily investors from embracing tokenized assets (e.g. knowledge gaps, regulatory onboarding hurdles, or user experience issues)? How is Plume Network working to reduce these frictions among retail investors while simultaneously meeting the needs of large institutional participants?
TP: Education remains the biggest barrier. Many retail investors don’t fully understand what they’re investing in, especially when it comes to real-world assets that are more complex than typical crypto tokens. As speculative trading cools and more users move towards basic-based investments, the appetite for RWA exposure is growing.
We also incubated products called Nest This will help to resolve the KYC hurdles for non-retail users. Nest allows users to deposit into safes managed by KYB-compliant entities registered in the Marshall Islands. This entity acquires institutional assets and issues tokens representing economic benefits. It’s similar to how Dai abstracts collateral management. This structure allows retail users to be exposed to RWA without violating jurisdictional constraints.
CN: Secure custody is a serious concern as potentially trillions of dollars of assets have been tokenized over the next decade. One solution is to hold the property in a neutral third-party trust until the obligation is met, emphasizing the importance of investor protection. How does Ploom deal with custody and security of tokenized assets on the network? Should I partner with established custodians, or can I develop an in-house solution to ensure that both institutional and retail investors feel their digital assets are safe?
TP: Yes, we are affiliated with Anchorage. Fireblock is about funds, assets security, and we have the idea that you need to ensure that you have an institutional grade custody partner for some of these assets. Yes, we work with a bunch of these institutional partners, many of which are also investors.
