Ripple has announced a strategic partnership with Ctrl Alt, a tokenization infrastructure provider, marking a significant expansion of its institutional digital asset custody services into the United Arab Emirates. The collaboration aims to power the Dubai Land Department’s (DLD) Real Estate Tokenization Project, which will issue tokenized property title deeds on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
Merrick emphasized the significance of the project, noting, “This is the first time a government real estate registration authority in the Middle East has tokenized property title deeds on a public blockchain. That the DLD has chosen the XRPL for this is really exciting and reinforces the XRPL’s credentials as the blockchain of choice for serious financial use cases.”
Ctrl Alt’s role as the designated tokenization provider for the DLD project is further strengthened by its recent regulatory milestone. The firm secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), becoming the first VASP authorized to conduct Issuer-related services in the UAE.
This development establishes a compliant framework for real-world asset tokenization, covering issuance, custody, on-chain settlement, and lifecycle management. Matt Ong, CEO and Founder of Ctrl Alt, said, “Partnering with Ripple allows us to leverage proven and trusted technology that meets the highest security and operational standards. We’re excited to work with them and bring Dubai real estate investment opportunities to a wider audience.”
The Dubai Land Department’s Real Estate Tokenization Project represents a major step toward modernizing property investment in the region. By placing property title deeds on the XRPL, the initiative introduces transparency and efficiency while enabling fractional ownership, allowing multiple investors to co-own properties. This approach is designed to broaden market access and create a more liquid, inclusive real estate ecosystem in Dubai.
Ctrl Alt, which has tokenized over $325 million worth of assets as of July 2025—including real estate, private credit, and alternative investments—brings extensive experience in financial engineering and blockchain infrastructure to the partnership. Its collaboration with Ripple underscores a growing trend: the fusion of regulated tokenization platforms with enterprise-grade custody solutions to facilitate real-world asset integration on blockchain networks.
At press time, XRP traded at $2.92.
