Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize, the BlackRock-backed tokenization platform, to build a regulated framework for institutional tokenization in the emirate.
The agreement is designed to encourage tokenization initiatives, attract institutional participation and examine how tokenized financial products can operate within Dubai’s regulatory environment. The development gives VARA crypto regulation a more prominent role in shaping how real-world assets move onto blockchain networks.
Securitize is a major player in the sector and has established relationships with global financial institutions, including BlackRock. In 2024, BlackRock led a $47 million strategic funding round in Securitize, while Securitize was selected as the transfer agent and tokenization platform for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.
The Dubai agreement therefore brings together a regulator seeking to build a controlled digital-asset market and a tokenization infrastructure provider already working with some of traditional finance’s biggest names.
VARA and securitize target regulated tokenized markets
The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation rather than announcing a single blockchain, platform or tokenized product.
According to the companies, the partnership will support relevant tokenization initiatives in Dubai, including projects initiated by VARA, while creating opportunities to examine how institutional-grade tokenized assets should function under the emirate’s rules.
That distinction is important. Rather than immediately launching a new product, the parties intend to use the relationship to identify areas where regulatory expertise and tokenization infrastructure can work together.
A VARA spokesperson said the objective is to combine the regulator’s perspective with Securitize’s institutional tokenization experience to help develop trusted and regulated tokenized markets in Dubai.
For VARA crypto regulation, the collaboration reflects a broader shift from simply regulating virtual-asset service providers toward addressing the infrastructure surrounding blockchain-based financial products.
VARA was established under Dubai’s 2022 virtual-asset law and oversees virtual-asset service providers operating in the emirate. Its regulatory framework covers areas including market conduct, technology, compliance and virtual-asset issuance.
Securitize says tokenization is moving into the mainstream
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo framed the partnership as part of a larger transition underway across financial markets.
He described Dubai as one of the world’s most forward-looking jurisdictions for digital-asset innovation and stressed that regulatory cooperation will become increasingly important as tokenization moves beyond experimentation.
“Tokenization has the potential to drive a significant transformation in capital markets infrastructure,” BlackRock’s Joseph Chalom said when the asset manager led Securitize’s 2024 funding round.
That institutional backing is significant because Securitize is no longer operating solely within the crypto-native market.
The company’s infrastructure has been used for tokenized investment products from institutions including BlackRock, Apollo, Hamilton Lane and KKR. Its current platform figures show nearly $5 billion in distributed real-world assets, according to RWA.xyz.
Securitize’s role in BlackRock’s BUIDL fund is particularly notable. BUIDL provides qualified investors with blockchain-based exposure to a fund investing in cash, U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, with Securitize handling tokenization and transfer-agent functions.
The Dubai partnership could consequently give the emirate access to experience developed through some of the world’s largest institutional tokenization deployments.
Dubai’s tokenization push comes as RWA market accelerates
The timing of the MoU is also significant. Tokenized real-world assets have been expanding rapidly as financial institutions experiment with putting funds, securities, credit and other traditionally off-chain assets on blockchain networks.
RWA.xyz currently tracks more than $38.5 billion in distributed tokenized real-world assets and more than 3.2 million asset holders. Its latest data also places Securitize at the top of its tokenization-platform rankings by distributed asset value, with almost $5 billion.
The numbers reinforce why regulators are increasingly focusing on tokenization.
For financial institutions, blockchain-based assets can potentially enable faster settlement, automated transfers, greater transparency and around-the-clock transaction capabilities. But those benefits also raise questions around investor protection, custody, ownership rights, compliance and secondary-market trading.
Dubai has already been testing tokenization beyond crypto markets. Its Real Estate Tokenization Project, conducted with VARA, the Dubai Land Department, Dubai Future Foundation and the UAE central bank, is designed to explore blockchain-based fractional ownership of property.
VARA said in February that the first phase had validated the project’s core technology, regulatory framework and operational feasibility, with a second phase focused on further testing, including secondary-market mechanisms.
That experience could prove valuable as Dubai expands into other tokenized financial products.
VARA crypto regulation could shape Dubai’s next digital-asset phase
The immediate significance of the agreement is not a new token or trading venue. It is the creation of a regulatory and industry dialogue around what institutional tokenization should look like in Dubai.
No specific projects were announced as part of the MoU at this stage. Instead, the partnership gives VARA and Securitize a formal channel to explore potential initiatives and determine where cooperation could support the market.
That approach could become increasingly important as global financial centers compete to attract tokenization businesses and institutional capital.
The London Stock Exchange, for example, has been exploring tokenized securities infrastructure, while financial institutions globally are experimenting with blockchain-based funds and securities. The competition is gradually shifting from proving that tokenization works to determining where and under what rules it can scale.
For Dubai, VARA crypto regulation could become a central component of that race.
If the emirate can combine regulatory clarity with institutional-grade infrastructure, the partnership with Securitize could help strengthen its position as a hub for tokenized financial markets. And as real-world assets increasingly move onchain, the winners may ultimately be the jurisdictions capable of providing both the technology and the rules needed to make that transition credible.
