Dubai Land Department Launches Real Estate Tokenization Project on XRP

Key Takeaways

• The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has been exploring real estate tokenization since 2017.
• A new platform, Prypco Mint, has launched on XRP Ledger.
• The DLD projects that tokenized assets will represent up to 7% of Dubai’s real estate market by 2033.

On Sunday, May 25, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced the launch of a new real estate tokenization project leveraging XRP Ledger.

The project lets investors purchase shares in Dubai properties through “Prypco Mint,” a new tokenization platform operated via Dubai’s Real Estate Sandbox.

Tokenization and Integration

Real estate tokenization has been building momentum for several years now.

The sector is projected to grow from $3.5 billion in 2024 to $19.4 billion by 2033.

But to fully realize the technology’s potential, platforms need to integrate with government-administered land and property registries.

Ultimately, only official ledgers legally record property ownership. And what’s the point of on-chain ownership if a property legally only belongs to the token issuer?

Dubai Backs Real Estate Tokenization

The DLD has been a blockchain pioneer since 2017, when it first piloted on-chain records for real estate contracts to streamline and digitize Dubai’s real estate bureaucracy.

Since 2022, the department has worked closely with the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which oversees the issuance, trading, and custody of virtual tokens representing real estate assets.

On March 19, the DLD launched the pilot phase of the Real Estate Tokenization Project to boost adoption and foster the development of new technology solutions.

The latest Ripple-based platform was developed in partnership with Ctrl Alt, a U.K.-based crypto infrastructure builder focused on tokenizing various real-world assets.

XRP Ledger Selected for New Platform

According to Ctrl Alt, the XRP Ledger was selected as the blockchain of choice for the Prypco Mint due to its “decade-long reliability and stability in tokenizing and exchanging digital and real-world assets.”

The platform has integrated directly with the DLD to synchronize both digital and traditional real estate ledgers, ensuring coordination between the on-chain and the conventional property registration system,” the firm said in a statement.

Currently, only United Arab Emirates ID holders are permitted to invest in Dubai’s new tokenized property shares. However, “the platform is set to expand globally in the near future,” the DLD stated.

The land registration department projects that tokenized assets will represent up to 7% of Dubai’s real estate market by 2033, with Prypco Mint poised to be “the cornerstone of this transformation.”