On March 19, 2025, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched the Real Estate Tokenization Project, introducing a different approach to property ownership powered by blockchain technology. This innovative system digitizes property title deeds into “tokens”—turning property into digital pieces. People can buy, sell, or trade them online safely. Tokenization breaks up expensive properties into smaller, more affordable pieces, making owning part of a property easier and cheaper.

Dubai’s move to tokenize real estate is part of a growing trend to use blockchain in 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. Tokenization gives people a more organized way to own property than crowdfunding, which collects investor money to buy property.

With this bold move, Dubai becomes the first city in the Middle East to use blockchain for real estate, aiming to grow a $16 billion tokenized market by 2033—representing roughly 7% of its total real estate transactions. The DLD launched the project as part of the Real Estate Innovation Initiative (REES), working with the Dubai Future Foundation and VARA to change the way properties are bought and owned in the emirates.

For investors, the benefits are game-changing. With fractional ownership, you can gain access to premium properties, with platforms like SmartCrowd allowing entry points as little as AED 500 in certain situations. The speed and openness of blockchain promise to make transactions easier, cutting through the traditional red tape and building trust at the same time.

Dubai’s groundbreaking step is motivating the global real estate market, even though there are still challenges, such as legal frameworks and cybersecurity.

With this bold move, Dubai becomes the first city in the Middle East to use blockchain for real estate, aiming to grow a $16 billion tokenized market by 2033—representing roughly 7% of its total real estate transactions. The DLD launched the project as part of the Real Estate Innovation Initiative (REES), working with the Dubai Future Foundation and VARA to change the way properties are bought and owned in the emirates.

For investors, the benefits are game-changing. With fractional ownership, you can gain access to premium properties, with platforms like SmartCrowd allowing entry points as little as AED 500 in certain situations. The speed and openness of blockchain promise to make transactions easier, cutting through the traditional red tape and building trust at the same time.

Dubai’s groundbreaking step is motivating the global real estate market, even though there are still challenges, such as legal frameworks and cybersecurity.