Dubai Is About to Let Property Tokens Trade Like Stocks

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has officially activated Phase II of its Real Estate Tokenization Project, marking a major structural shift in how property ownership and liquidity function in Dubai’s market.

Starting February 20, 2026, investors will be able to buy and sell tokenized fractions of real estate on a regulated secondary market, similar to trading equities, rather than relying on traditional property transactions.

This phase brings approximately 7.8 million property-backed tokens into active circulation, making them freely tradeable for the first time.

How the tokenized property market works

Under the new framework, physical real estate assets are digitally represented through blockchain-based tokens that are legally linked to official title deeds held by the DLD.

Each token represents fractional ownership in a property, allowing investors to trade exposure to high-value assets without purchasing entire units. Transactions occur within a regulated marketplace overseen by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation.

This structure enables property shares to be exchanged with significantly higher liquidity, while maintaining legal recognition and ownership rights under Dubai’s land registry.

What changes for investors and residents

Historically, real estate in Dubai has been a capital-intensive and illiquid asset class, with sales often taking months to finalize. The introduction of secondary trading changes that dynamic.

Investors can now:

• Enter the property market with lower capital requirements
• Trade fractional ownership in premium locations, including assets comparable to Palm Jumeirah or Downtown developments
• Adjust exposure more quickly in response to market conditions

For residents and market participants, the system introduces greater transparency, as blockchain records are directly synchronized with the DLD’s official property database, reducing ambiguity around ownership and transfers.

Why this matters for Dubai’s long-term strategy

Real estate tokenization is a core pillar of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Dubai Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033.

Dubai aims to scale its tokenized property market to AED 60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, accounting for roughly 7% of total real estate transactions. The launch of secondary trading is a critical step toward that target, transforming tokenization from a conceptual innovation into a functioning market layer.

By combining legal enforceability, regulatory oversight, and blockchain infrastructure, Dubai is positioning itself as one of the first global jurisdictions where real estate trades with the flexibility of financial assets, without sacrificing property rights or compliance standards.

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