Smart contracts
Self-executing agreements
Leases, escrow, dividend waterfalls and covenants written as code that runs itself — cutting settlement from weeks to seconds and removing whole layers of manual reconciliation.
Real-world assets · on-chain
Property, reissued as code.
Real estate is the world's largest asset class — and the least liquid. Tokenization rebuilds it on blockchain rails: fractional, programmable, borderless. This is where we track that transformation.
Grounded in institutional research
DeloitteBoston Consulting GroupBlackRockFranklin TempletonEuropean Union · MiCA
The shift
The world's biggest asset class is moving on-chain
Real estate is worth hundreds of trillions of dollars, yet a single sale still takes months, armies of intermediaries and a stack of paper. Tokenization replaces that stack with a shared, programmable ledger — and in doing so changes who can own property, how fast it trades, and what can be built on top of it.
$4T
Projected value of tokenized real estate by 2035, up from under $0.3T in 2024 (~27% CAGR).
Source: Deloitte, 2025
$16T
Estimated value of all tokenized assets by 2030 — roughly 10% of global GDP.
Source: BCG & ADDX, 2022
$2.4T
Share Deloitte assigns to tokenized property loans and securitizations alone by 2035.
Source: Deloitte, 2025
-$850
Estimated cost saved per $100k mortgage when originated and serviced on-chain.
Source: Figure, via Deloitte
From deeds to data
Why put a building on a blockchain?
A token is simply a verifiable claim. Anchor the claim to a property, a fund unit or a stream of rent, and ownership stops being a filing cabinet and becomes something you can divide, move and program.
- Fractional access. A €500,000 apartment becomes 500,000 tokens — opening prime property to retail investors, not just institutions.
- Liquidity. Positions can be transferred in minutes on a secondary market instead of months through a notary.
- Programmable income. Rent and dividends distribute automatically to token holders via smart contracts.
- Transparency. A single source of truth for title, cap table and history — auditable in real time.
How it works
From title deed to tradable token, in four moves
The mechanics are consistent whether you tokenize a single apartment or a billion-dollar fund. Each step maps a traditional legal act onto a verifiable on-chain equivalent.
1
Structure
The property is placed in a legal wrapper — typically an SPV or fund. Token holders own the entity that owns the asset, so real-world rights stay enforceable.
2
Issue
Compliant security tokens are minted to a standard such as ERC-3643, embedding identity checks and transfer rules directly into the token.
3
Distribute
Investors are onboarded with KYC/AML, subscribe, and receive tokens. Rent and dividends can flow back automatically via smart contracts.
4
Trade
Tokens change hands on regulated secondary venues, with settlement and the register updating in a single, atomic step.
New financial instruments
What tokenization builds on top of property
Once property is a programmable security, an entire product layer becomes possible — the same evolution that took equities from paper certificates to ETFs and derivatives, compressed into a fraction of the time.
Security tokens
Fractional equity & debt
Ownership and mortgage debt split into permissioned tokens (ERC-3643 / ERC-1400) that carry compliance in the asset itself, so only eligible wallets can ever hold them.
Funds & ETFs
Tokenized funds & on-chain ETFs
Whole portfolios issued as tokens with 24/7 subscription and redemption. Institutions are already live: BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI prove the model for real assets next.
Derivatives
Indices, options & yield products
Liquid, composable tokens make property indices, price hedges, options and structured yield feasible — letting investors trade real-estate exposure without ever transferring a deed.
Regulation, not evasion
Tokenized property is a security first, a token second
The credible version of this market is fully regulated. In the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) explicitly excludes crypto-assets that qualify as financial instruments. A token representing property ownership, debt or fund units is therefore governed by existing securities law — chiefly MiFID II and the Prospectus Regulation — the same rulebook as a share or a bond.
That is why issuers increasingly adopt permissioned standards like ERC-3643, which build identity and transfer controls into the token so it can only be held by verified, eligible investors. Compliance stops being paperwork around the asset and becomes part of the asset.
Insights
Research from the front line of tokenization
Explainers and analysis grounded in primary sources — Deloitte, BCG, the European Union and the institutions already issuing tokenized funds today.
What is real estate tokenization?
The mechanics, the legal wrappers and the four steps that turn a title deed into a tradable digital security.
Read article
MiCA, MiFID II and the rules for tokenized property
Why tokenized real estate sits outside MiCA — and what the EU framework actually requires of issuers.
Read article
Wall Street is already tokenized — real estate is next
BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI show the institutional playbook now heading for property.
Read article
What we're building
A home for tokenized real estate — from thesis to platform
Real Estate by the Block starts as the research layer for property on-chain. The roadmap: a compliant marketplace where tokenized real estate can be issued, held and traded under existing securities law. We're building in the open — follow the journey.
Roadmap in progress · not yet an offer of securities
Contact
Get on the early list
Investors, property owners, developers and builders: tell us what you'd tokenize first. We'll share research and let you know when the platform opens.
Prefer email? Write to realestatebytheblock@pm.me.
Sanlúcar de Barrameda · Andalucía · European Union