Dubai Land Department Launches Real Estate Tokenization Pilot Program

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

The initiative was developed in collaboration with the digital assets watchdog Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Dubai Future Foundation (DFF). This project aligns with Dubai’s 2033 real estate strategy and broader efforts to reinforce its status as a global technology hub.

DLD projects that tokenized real estate could account for 7% of the city’s total property transactions, potentially reaching 60 billion dirhams ($16 billion) by 2033.

Dubai’s advance into real estate tokenization reflects a rising trend of integrating blockchain into traditional markets, placing real-world assets (RWA) such as bonds, funds, and credit on blockchain networks.

The digital token representations of RWAs can be fractionally owned and transferred on the blockchain, lowering investment entry barriers and enhancing market liquidity. In contrast to crowdfunding—which pools investor funds for property purchases—tokenization offers a more structured ownership model. Nonetheless, a McKinsey tokenization report from last year highlighted real estate as a sector that might experience slower growth in adoption due to operational challenges.

Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita, the director general of DLD, mentioned that this initiative aims to “simplify and enhance buying, selling, and investment processes” in local real estate. He noted that the department is consulting with technology firms to refine the project before expanding it further.