Dubai Land Department (DLD) launches a real estate tokenization pilot program

The Dubai Land Department (DLD), a government agency for the real estate industry, said it started a real estate tokenization pilot program, claiming to be the first property registration authority in the Middle East to use blockchain technology for property title deeds.

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has begun a pilot program for real estate tokenization, aiming to tokenize property title deeds using blockchain technology. This initiative, a collaboration with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), marks a first for a property registration authority in the Middle East.

The project aligns with Dubai’s 2033 real estate strategy and broader efforts to strengthen its position as a global technology hub. DLD projects that tokenized real estate could contribute 7% to the city's total property transactions, amounting to 60 billion dirhams ($16 billion) by 2033.

This initiative follows the increasing trend of integrating blockchain into traditional markets, placing real-world assets (RWA) like bonds, funds and credit on crypto rails.

The digital token versions of RWAs can be fractionally owned and transferred on the blockchain, lowering the entry barriers for investors and increasing market liquidity. Unlike crowdfunding, which pools investor funds for property purchases, tokenization provides a more structured ownership model. However, a McKinsey tokenization report last year listed real estate as one of the classes that could face slower growth in tokenization adoption due to operational hurdles.

“We are committed to leveraging advanced technologies to simplify and enhance buying, selling and investment processes in local real estate,” said Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita, director general of DLD.

The department is engaging with technology firms to refine the project before scaling it up.

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