Tokenised property is not buying with crypto
The short answer
No. The Dubai Land Department's tokenisation project sells fractional shares of a property as digital tokens, and its launch announcement says all transactions are carried out exclusively in UAE dirhams, with no cryptocurrency used in the pilot. A token is a share of a property you own. It is not a way of paying for one.
The Dubai Land Department runs a project that sells shares of a property as digital tokens, and it is easy to read that as a way to pay for property in crypto. It works the other way round. The token is what you own, the money is dirhams, and the Department's own launch announcement says no cryptocurrency is used. For a whole property bought from crypto, the route is the one set out in the rest of this guide.
By House Of Orange editorial. A licensed Dubai real estate brokerage, ORN 49865, at The Opal Tower, Business Bay. About the firm
Key points
- What it is
- The Land Department's project to divide a property into shares recorded as tokens, announced as a pilot on 19 March 2025
- What you pay with
- UAE dirhams. The launch announcement says no cryptocurrency is used in the pilot
- Where it runs
- Prypco Mint, which the Department describes as licensed by VARA
- From
- AED 2,000 for a share at launch, according to the Department
- Who could take part at launch
- UAE ID holders only. The Department says wider participation is being studied
- Where it is now
- Phase two opened resale of approximately 7.8 million tokens from 20 February 2026
What the Land Department's tokenisation project is
Tokenisation divides a property into shares and records each share as a digital token on a blockchain. The Land Department announced the pilot on 19 March 2025, under its Real Estate Innovation Initiative, REES, and describes itself as the first real estate registration entity in the Middle East to implement tokenisation on property title deeds.
The first project opened on 25 May 2025 on a platform called Prypco Mint. The Department says the project was developed with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the Central Bank of the UAE and the Dubai Future Foundation, with Zand Digital Bank appointed as banking partner for the pilot.
The first project sold in a day
According to the Department, it sold within one day of launch, to 224 investors from 44 nationalities, with an average individual investment of AED 10,714.
Owners receive a certificate
Following that first sale, the Department launched a Property Token Ownership Certificate.
Resale opened in phase two
On 9 February 2026 the Department announced phase two, enabling the resale of approximately 7.8 million tokens in a secondary market from 20 February, within what it calls a controlled pilot framework.
Why it runs in dirhams
The launch announcement is explicit: all transactions are carried out exclusively in UAE dirhams, with no use of cryptocurrencies during the pilot phase. The token is recorded on a blockchain. What buys it is dirhams.
It is the same pattern as the rest of this guide. Whatever is recorded digitally, the payment is made in dirhams. We have found no Department statement that a later phase will take anything else, and we will not guess at one.
A token is a share, not the whole property
Owning tokens in a project means owning a share of one property alongside other investors, which the Department calls fractional ownership. It sets tokenisation apart from crowdfunding, describing it as a distinct and more structured model for real estate investment.
If what you want is a whole home or a whole unit, that is a different purchase, and the route for it, converting to dirhams through a licensed provider and buying like any other buyer, is the one the rest of this guide sets out.
Check the platform's licence
The Department describes Prypco Mint as licensed by VARA. VARA's public register shows each firm's status and its licensed activities.
Read what the platform shows about the property
The Department says investors can see pricing, risk factors, technical specifications and the minimum investment on the platform before they buy.
Ask how you would sell
Resale in phase two runs inside the Department's controlled pilot framework. Ask how a sale works on the platform and what it costs before you buy.
Where the project is heading
The Department projects tokenised property reaching AED 60 billion by 2033, about 7% of Dubai's real estate transactions. That is its own forecast, not a measurement.
In February 2026 it said work continues with VARA on standards for later phases, including more platforms and wider participation, following a gradual approach subject to evaluation and the necessary regulatory approvals.
The other parts of the same purchase
What this page relies on
Regulators and issuers only. Each link carries the date we last read it against the text above.
- Dubai Land Department launches pilot phase of the Real Estate Tokenisation Project, 19 March 2025
Dubai Land Department
- DLD launches the tokenised real estate project through the Prypco Mint platform, 25 May 2025
Dubai Land Department
- Dubai Land Department unveils the Property Token Ownership Certificate, 29 May 2025
Dubai Land Department
- Phase II of the Real Estate Tokenisation Project, resale from 20 February, 9 February 2026
Dubai Land Department
- Real Estate Tokenization: the project, its objectives and who can take part
Dubai Land Department
- Public register of virtual asset service providers
Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
Paying from crypto, answered straight
The questions people type, with the rule and the figure rather than a reassurance.
Not in the Land Department's project so far. Its launch announcement says all transactions are carried out exclusively in UAE dirhams, with no use of cryptocurrencies during the pilot, and we have found no later statement changing that. A buyer holding crypto sells it for dirhams through a licensed provider first, as for any other purchase.
A project, announced as a pilot on 19 March 2025, that divides a property into shares recorded as tokens on a blockchain. The first project opened on the Prypco Mint platform on 25 May 2025, with shares from AED 2,000, and resale of approximately 7.8 million tokens opened from 20 February 2026.
A token is a share of one property, owned alongside other investors, which the Land Department calls fractional ownership, and owners receive a Property Token Ownership Certificate. It is a different purchase from buying a whole unit, which the rest of this guide covers.
At launch the platform was available exclusively to UAE ID holders. In February 2026 the Land Department said it is studying wider participation and more platforms, following a gradual approach subject to evaluation and regulatory approval.
Get the answer for your purchase
These pages are general by definition. What your own purchase needs depends on what you hold, where it is held, who you are buying from and what the contract already says. Ask, and you will get the rule and the number.
What we will tell you
- Whether the plan is permitted
- Which leg of your purchase the Central Bank rule touches and which it does not, before you agree anything with a seller or a developer.
- What to ask a conversion provider
- The licence to ask for, the regulation it sits under, and the questions about spread and fee that get a number rather than a reassurance.
- What paperwork to start now
- The source of funds evidence a purchase funded from crypto draws, and how early it has to exist.
- What belongs in the contract
- A conversion deadline, and what happens if it is missed, written into the memorandum of understanding rather than left to goodwill.