Secondary Market for Tokenized Real Estate Launched in Dubai

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) and tokenization infrastructure provider Ctrl Alt announced that the Real Estate Tokenization project moved to its next phase, enabling trading of tokenized assets on a regulated platform.

According to the press release, during the first phase, ten real estate properties with a total value exceeding 18.5 million dirhams ($5 million) were tokenized. Approximately 7.8 million digital tokens representing ownership rights were issued and distributed among investors. In the second phase, all these tokens were admitted to trading on the secondary market within a controlled environment, which is expected to enhance liquidity and broaden participation in Dubai’s real estate market.

Secondary trading is organized as a regulated pilot and takes place on a specialized platform. All transactions are recorded on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), while digital asset custody is provided by Ripple Custody. This approach ensures compliance with existing land registry procedures and guarantees data integrity.

During the second phase, Asset-Referenced Virtual Asset (ARVA) management tokens are also being issued to facilitate regulated asset transfers on the secondary market. Both ownership tokens and management tokens are recorded on the blockchain, forming a unified, immutable registry of rights.

Ctrl Alt, acting as the project’s technology partner, issued ownership tokens representing title deed rights during the first phase. The company is directly integrated with DLD systems, enabling synchronized registration, accounting, and transfer of real estate rights in both the official registry and the blockchain.

According to Robert Farquhar, CEO of Ctrl Alt for the Middle East and North Africa, the launch of secondary trading is a key prerequisite for the full functionality of tokenized assets and establishes a new model for ownership rights circulation.

Matt Acheson, Ctrl Alt’s CPO, noted that the developed infrastructure enables simultaneous operation of ownership and management tokens within a single system. This allows investment platforms, including PRYPCO Mint, to offer fractional real estate investments without having to build complex technological infrastructure themselves.

In April 2025, DLD and VARA joined forces to integrate digital assets into the real estate sector. As part of the initiative, government entities, with the participation of Zand Digital Bank, initiated the launch of the PRYPCO Mint blockchain investment platform, while Ripple began developing custody infrastructure in partnership with Ctrl Alt.