PRYPCO Mint prepares for DLD and VARA’s upcoming Tokenized Property Framework
Founded in Dubai in 2022 by Amira Sajwani, PRYPCO is a UAE fintech and proptech platform built to simplify how people invest in finance and own real estate. Prypco developed an integrated property ecosystem with a mission to reduce cost, complexity and barriers to property ownership.
This is why in May 2025, PRYPCO Mint was regulated within VARA Dubai as the first tokenized real estate investment platform. PRYPCO Mint and Dubai Land Department alongside VARA Dubai, the Dubai Future Foundation and Ctrl Alt, piloted a tokenized fractional property investment platform that was connected to Dubai Land Department enabling UAE residents to invest in Dubai properties starting at 2,000 AED.
A few months back, PRYPCO Mint announced it was building a secondary marketplace and would be opening up to new real-world assets. In June it added tokenized gold backed by physical gold and powered by PAX Gold, allowing users to buy and sell from AED 100.
Lara on the Block spoke with the General Manager at PRYPCO Mint Joseph Al Em, to understand where things stand today, the future, and the overall experience and lessons learned, especially given the recent pause in new property listings.
The Beginnings of tokenized Property investment with PRYPCO Mint was a success
Joseph started by reiterating that PRYPCO Mint tokenized property investment platform was and still is a pilot. While the first phase was extremely successful, funding 10 properties in two months, at record pace, 1 minute and 58 seconds and others at 15 minutes, the purpose was to test and build the infrastructure around the model.
He explains, “Dubai is the first city in the world to build something like this, directly connected to the land registry, so naturally there are a lot of rails that need to be built as we move from a pilot towards something that can operate at scale. For us, the next step goes beyond putting more properties on the platform. We need to make sure the infrastructure is ready for the ecosystem to grow and for other players to eventually participate as well.”
He adds that the real impact comes from building infrastructure that can support hundreds or thousands of properties, multiple platforms and a much broader investor base. “That’s where this can really change the way people access and invest in real estate.”
Tokenizing a Property and listing it is a multi process endeavor
For those outside of the pilot, the process may look simple and straightforward, but in reality there are a lot of moving parts associated before an asset, such as a property can be tokenized and listed.
Joseph explained that it starts with sourcing and searching for opportunities in the market through a network of brokers and internal assessment criteria and then with an appointment of an independent RICS-approved and DLD-regulated valuation company.
Once a valuation is approved an offer can be made to the seller. Once accepted, KYC and due diligence take place for the seller and the property.
In the meantime, whitepaper and required investors disclosure are prepared, submitted for relevant approval processes.
Only then is the property listed on the platform and opened for funding.
He explains, “Once it is fully funded, the tokens are issued and the property is tokenized. This is also where you really see the difference with the traditional fractional ownership model. Typically, at the end of the process, you would create an SPV and go through the trustee to transfer the property into that structure. With tokenization, the ownership is recorded directly on the DLD register. That makes the process much more efficient. What would traditionally take two to three weeks can happen in a matter of minutes, while also removing a significant amount of the cost.”
Tokenizing a property into fractionalized assets and being able to sell them is just one part of the equation, the second most important part is putting these tokenized fractionalized property assets on a marketplace, and that was the intention at PRYPCO Mint.
Joseph noted that while phase one was about primary issuance and proving investor demand, the second phase, the marketplace was about testing liquidity and growth. He states, “ We saw very strong momentum in the marketplace, and we continue to see positive signs today with transactions happening daily.
He does however note that “tokenization does not change the fundamental of the underlying asset class, real estate is a semi-liquid asset and tokenizing it doesn’t make it suddenly the most liquid asset in the market.”
But it can enhance liquidity adds Joseph because it becomes easier for investors to enter and exit in comparison with traditional real estate ownership.
He explains,” That liquidity should continue to develop as the ecosystem grows, with more properties on the platform, a larger investor base including investors from outside the UAE, and eventually connections with market makers and other institutional participants. We’re still at the beginning of that journey. The marketplace gives us the infrastructure to build on, and every additional property and investor adds more depth to that market.”
New tokenized properties coming to Dubai when DLD and VARA Dubai decide
When will we be seeing new tokenize properties in Dubai? Joseph states this is ultimately a decision for DLD (Dubai Land Department) and VARA Dubai. But he did note that both DLD and VARA are actively working on the next stage of the framework with the “intention of opening the ecosystem to multiple players in the market very soon”.
He says that this is an important next step after demonstrating the demand and testing the model through the pilot.
He explains, “The next stage is about creating a broader ecosystem where more participants can come in, more properties can be tokenized, and investors have access to a much wider pool of opportunities. From our side, we are ready to support that next phase as soon as the framework allows it.”
Will International investors be able to participate? Joseph notes that this is also being addressed by VARA and DLD in the upcoming framework. He explains that the first phase was a controlled environment with UAE residents and Emirates ID holders, and opening this up internationally, while technologically feasible, still needs additional considerations surrounding KYC, payments, investor onboarding and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
He adds, “Dubai real estate already attracts investors from around the world. Tokenization can eventually give those investors a much simpler way to access the market, at much lower entry points and without many of the frictions that come with buying an entire property. We’re starting with the UAE, building the right framework and infrastructure, and the ambition is global.”
The future is tokenizing even more asset classes not only in UAE but globally
As for the future, PRYPCO Mint is not just thinking of tokenized real estate, it is now offering tokenized gold, and while real estate remains the core of what PRYPCO does, and where they started, they strongly believe in diversification.
Joseph is happy with the momentum seen so far in their tokenized gold offering. He states, “It has been phenomenal. Gold is a very important asset class globally. It has traditionally played a role in diversification and wealth preservation, and tokenization allows us to make access to it much simpler and more flexible for investors. And we’re not stopping there.”
They are working on a couple of new asset classes that are not available in this format in the market today. “ I can’t disclose too much at this stage, but our intention is to continue being first to bring these types of opportunities to investors. Ultimately, our ambition for PRYPCO goes beyond any single asset class. We want to build the leading real-world asset tokenization platform in the region and, over time, globally.”
Expansion is not just in product offerings but also geographical coverage and Georgia is one of the first on PRYPCO’s list. Earlier this year, they signed an MoU with the Ministry of Justice of Georgia to explore the development of a real estate tokenization framework.
Joseph states, “What makes this particularly interesting for us is that we can take a lot of what we have learned in Dubai and apply that experience to another market, while adapting it to the local regulatory and real estate environment.”
PRYPCO intends to work closely with governments, land registries and regulators to help build the infrastructure and framework around tokenization, using Dubai as the blueprint.
He ends with, “Over time, we see PRYPCO playing a role both as a platform operator and as a technology and infrastructure partner for governments and institutions looking to build their own tokenization ecosystems.”
