The UAE is accelerating the tokenisation of real-world assets across property and capital markets, moving from pilot projects to infrastructure-grade deployments backed by regulators, banks, and developers. This is supported by aligned federal and free-zone rulebooks, according to a new report.
Policymakers view tokenisation as a way to deepen markets, lower entry barriers, and attract cross-border capital. Early activity in fractionalised real estate is now joined by digitally native bonds and fund shares issued within supervised market infrastructure.
In May 2025, a government-supported pilot tokenised property title deeds on the XRP Ledger, allowing fractional ownership from Dh2,000 per share. This brought retail investors into assets traditionally reserved for larger tickets, with instant settlement on a public blockchain under local oversight. Major developers have committed multi-billion-dollar pipelines, indicating that tokenisation is moving into premium portfolios rather than remaining confined to smaller units.
Institutional capital markets adoption is advancing in parallel. In 2025, the region’s first digitally native bond was issued using distributed ledger technology, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and made tradable on an international platform, creating a blueprint for lifecycle-managed digital debt. Tokenised shares of institutional funds are also being offered, pushing tokenisation into alternatives alongside property and fixed income.
A converging regulatory architecture has enabled this shift. The federal Capital Market Authority introduced a token regime confirming that tokenised equities, bonds, funds, and commodity-linked instruments fall under securities supervision outside financial free zones. Parallel frameworks apply within the free zones, and retail virtual-asset activity is licensed locally, producing a layered but coordinated system.
Early numbers highlight growth potential. Announced developer programmes exceed $4 billion, the fractional property pilot lowers entry thresholds, and digital bonds show that distributed ledger issuance can operate within mainstream market venues.
The next phase will test interoperability between land registries, tokenisation platforms, and exchanges, allowing assets, investors, and service providers to operate across federal and free-zone boundaries without friction. With sovereign-linked institutions supporting funds and banks running live digital debt, the UAE’s tokenised market is poised to move from proofs of concept toward routine issuance and secondary trading across real estate, funds, and bonds, building liquidity while protecting investors.