Emaar Business Park Building No. 3, First Floor, P.O. Box 125400, Dubai (UAE)
Emaar Business Park Building No. 3, First Floor, P.O. Box 125400, Dubai (UAE)
Dubai has led the way into blockchain-driven property investment, with DLD and VARA joining hands to pilot the real estate tokenisation project. The tokenisation of title deeds into the official land registry ensure greater transparency and places Dubai as the global hub of digital assets.
Real estate tokenisation essentially converts title deeds into digital tokens passed down in a blockchain. Each token constitutes a fraction of ownership, enabling many investors to own assets of high value. This procedure reduces barriers to entry, enhances liquidity, and allows worldwide investors to engage in Dubai’s property market. Each transaction is traceable, secured, and in sync with Dubai’s innovation strategies.
Starting with its pilot launch stage in March 2025 on the Real-Estate Tokenisation Project under the Real Estate Evolution Space (REES), the land registry of DLD became the very first one in the geographical region to tokenise title deeds. VARA regulates the issuance of tokens, custody, and trading, while the Dubai Future Foundation facilitates development through Sandbox Dubai.
This working partnership establishes a direct line between the land registry and blockchain tokens, eliminating the need for offshore wrappers or SPVs and reducing complications on both the transactional and governance sides.
These benefits are positioned to facilitate Dubai’s strategic objectives, including the Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033 and Economic Agenda D33, where real estate transaction volumes are targeted at AED1 trillion and GDP is to be doubled in the coming decade.
According to DLD, Dubai’s tokenised real estate is expected to grow to AED 60 billion by 2033, representing about seven percent of all real estate transactions in Dubai. This size, therefore, portrays the ability to transform the initiative.
Industry players such as Tokinvest CEO Scott Thiel believe it is “the playbook for Real Estate 2.0”—a move from theory into practice on digital property strategy in Dubai.
Myth: Any firm asserting participation in the pilot is genuine.
Reality: Only entities that VARA and DLD have expressly authorised may be involved in it. Any unlawful claim might constitute a violation of Dubai’s regulatory regime of virtual assets.
Myth: Its tokenisation requires complex offshore legal structures.
Reality: The Dubai model incorporates tokenisation directly into the official registry with no SPVs, making it more transparent and streamlined.
DLD and VARA are opening the door to the future space of property investment. Tokenisation, if successful, will provide avenues for wider access, liquidity, and transparency to the real estate sector. With a pilot accelerating, Dubai’s model is now poised for mainstream-view recognition as a regulatory framework for blockchain-enabled property markets.
