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When someone says an asset has been "tokenised", what do you actually own? It is a fair question, and we hear it more often as tokenised assets in Dubai move from conference stages towards real products. Two announcements in the same week show the direction. On 5 October, Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Daman Virtual brought regulators, investors and financial leaders together to discuss how digital assets could support the emirate's capital markets (¹). A day later, ADI Foundation and Tokinvest signed a memorandum targeting a US$100 million tokenised sukuk, built by tokenising existing sukuk of UAE issuers (²). Sukuk are Islamic finance certificates that work much like bonds, giving holders a share in an underlying asset rather than paying interest.

Below, we explain what a tokenised asset is, what you can buy today and who regulates it.

What is a tokenised asset?

A tokenised asset is a digital record, held on a blockchain, that represents ownership of something that already exists: a property, a bond, a fund unit or a bar of metal. The asset itself stays the same. What changes is how ownership is recorded and passed from one person to another.

That is more important than the technology. In its analysis of Islamic finance products, international law firm White & Case notes that a tokenised sukuk is still a security. The rules, rights and risks that apply to the original instrument travel with it.

What tokenisation can add is practical. Transfers can settle faster, sometimes outside banking hours, and an asset can be divided into smaller units, which lowers the minimum amount needed to take part. And, what it leaves untouched is just as important: the strength of the issuer, the quality of the underlying asset, and how any gain is taxed where you live.

Why is Dubai pushing tokenisation now?

Dubai sees tokenisation as one way to deepen its capital markets and attract more international investment. At the October forum, sukuk, investment funds and international equities were among the asset classes discussed, and the event was framed around the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33 (³).

The regulator is engaging directly too. On 3 September, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) signed a memorandum of understanding with tokenisation platform Securitize to explore support for tokenisation projects in the emirate (⁴). A VARA spokesperson described the agreement as a broad framework for collaboration, with no commitment to a particular technology or product (⁵).

These signals should be read for what they are. Forums and memoranda show where a market is heading, but none of them is something an investor can buy.

What is live today, and what is still a plan?

A small number of tokenised assets in Dubai are already live, alongside a longer list of plans.

Property. Dubai Land Department's tokenisation pilot opened fractional property ownership to residents, with entry from AED 2,000 during the pilot phase. A second phase, from 20 February 2026, allows resale of around 7.8 million property tokens on a secondary market, still within a controlled pilot (⁶).

Commodities. On 7 September 2026, DMCC launched the world's largest silver bar, weighing 1,971kg, as the first tokenised commodity under the DMCC-VARA framework. The physical bar is held by Brink's and recorded on DMCC Tradeflow, and eligible investors, including retail investors, can buy fractional interests through Tokinvest, with secondary trading expected after issuance (⁷).

Sukuk. The US$100 million ADI Foundation and Tokinvest figure is a target under a memorandum, not an instrument on sale today (⁸).

One further distinction is worth keeping in mind; being able to buy a small slice of an asset does not guarantee you can sell it quickly at a fair price. Dubai's property pilot needed a separate phase simply to enable resale, which shows that a market for selling has to be built deliberately.

Who regulates tokenised assets in Dubai and the wider UAE?

It depends on where the asset is issued and where you buy it. Several regulators oversee digital assets in the UAE, each with its own rulebook (⁹):

VARA covers virtual assets in Dubai outside the Dubai International Financial Centre.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) covers activity inside the DIFC.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) covers Abu Dhabi Global Market.

The Central Bank of the UAE oversees payment tokens. On the mainland, only licensed dirham payment tokens can be used as general merchant payments (¹⁰).

A federal framework also now covers onshore virtual asset activity outside the financial free zones (¹¹).

The rulebook matters because it sets what you are told before you invest, how the underlying asset must be held, and what recourse you have if something goes wrong. Two tokens can look identical on a screen and carry quite different protections.

Where might tokenisation fit in a wider plan?

Some clients will want direct access to tokenised products as they appear. Others prefer an adviser to assess each one first, and many will do a bit of both, depending on the decision. Any of these approaches can work, as long as the same standards apply to the asset underneath.

For families with ties to Europe, location deserves attention. Dubai is widening tokenised access at the same moment the EU is tightening. On 8 October, the European Securities and Markets Authority told crypto platforms to stop services in stablecoins that don't meet its MiCA rules, with remaining client holdings to be resolved by early January 2027 (¹²). Where an asset is held can matter as much as what it is.

A simple and useful test to try is to judge the asset and the structure, then the token.

For the wider questions worth answering before holding any digital asset, read our guide to digital assets for high-net-worth investors. If you are weighing whether tokenised assets belong in your own plans, we would be glad to talk it through.

This article is general information, not personalised financial, legal or tax advice.

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