Vara, Securitize Partner on Regulated Tokenization in Dubai

Dubai is taking another step toward building a regulated market for tokenized assets as the emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) partners with institutional tokenization platform Securitize.

The two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at supporting tokenization initiatives, encouraging institutional participation and exploring how tokenized financial products can operate within Dubai’s regulatory framework.

The agreement comes as tokenization moves beyond an emerging crypto use case and increasingly becomes part of how financial institutions are experimenting with funds, securities and other real world assets onchain.

Ideas clave

• VARA and Securitize will collaborate on regulated tokenization initiatives and digital asset infrastructure in Dubai.

• The partnership will explore how tokenized financial products can operate within Dubai’s existing regulatory framework.

• Securitize currently has approximately $5 billion in tokenized assets under management and works with major asset managers.

• Dubai is positioning regulatory clarity and institutional infrastructure as key parts of its strategy to attract digital asset businesses and talent.

• The agreement does not announce a specific product or technology, but creates a framework for future tokenization projects.

Dubai Wants Regulation to Keep Pace With Tokenization

Under the MoU, VARA and Securitize will work together on initiatives that could include projects initiated or facilitated by VARA, alongside broader efforts around market education, research, ecosystem development and talent attraction. The partnership is deliberately broad for now. A VARA spokesperson said the agreement is intended to create a framework for collaboration rather than commit the parties to a particular technology stack or product.

The regulator said the goal is to combine its regulatory perspective with Securitize’s experience in institutional tokenization to identify areas where collaboration could support trusted and regulated tokenized markets. That distinction matters as financial institutions increasingly explore infraestructura blockchain without necessarily treating tokenization as a traditional crypto trading product. Tokenized funds, securities and other real world assets can bring financial instruments onto blockchain networks while potentially improving settlement, accessibility and market efficiency.

Securitize Sees Tokenization Moving Into the Mainstream

Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo described Dubai as one of the most forward looking jurisdictions for digital asset innovation and said collaboration between regulators and industry will become increasingly important as tokenization develops. The company has established itself as a major player in institutional tokenization, with approximately $5 billion in assets under management as of August 2026. Its platform supports tokenized funds in partnership with major financial institutions and asset managers, including BlackRock, Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR and VanEck.

The company’s growing institutional footprint gives the partnership significance beyond Dubai’s local mercado de activos digitales. It potentially gives the emirate access to experience from a platform already working with established financial institutions.

For VARA, the partnership also fits into Dubai’s broader effort to build a regulatory environment capable of supporting digital asset innovation while maintaining investor and market protections.

Tokenized Assets Are Gaining Ground

The agreement arrives as demand for tokenized real world assets continues to expand. Datos de RWA.xyz cited in the announcement showed the number of real world asset holders rising 103% over the previous 30 days to 3.2 million, while the total value of tokenized assets increased 2% to $38.5 billion.

Securitize ranked as the largest plataforma de tokenización by assets under management, followed by Ondo Finance with approximately $3.5 billion.

The growth suggests that tokenization is becoming less about testing blockchain technology and more about finding practical ways to integrate it into existing financial markets.

Other major financial centers are also moving in the same direction. The London Stock Exchange, for example, has been exploring tokenized stock trading as traditional market infrastructure begins experimenting with blockchain based settlement and trading.

Dubai’s Institutional Ambition

Dubai has increasingly positioned itself as a destination for digital asset companies, but the next phase of its strategy appears focused on institutional adoption.

VARA CEO Matthew White said the future of financial markets will depend not only on technology but also on the regulatory frameworks and market infrastructure that give institutions confidence to participate.The MoU therefore represents more than a technology partnership. It is an attempt to bring regulators and infrastructure providers closer together as financial products evolve.

No specific tokenization project has been announced under the agreement yet. Instead, VARA and Securitize will use the framework to identify opportunities for future collaboration.

Conclusión

Dubai’s partnership with Securitize reflects a broader shift in the digital asset industry. The focus is increasingly moving from simply putting assets onchain to creating regulated infrastructure that institutions can actually use.

For Dubai, working directly with established tokenization platforms could help shape the rules and infrastructure before the market reaches a larger scale. For Securitize, the partnership provides another opportunity to expand institutional tokenization within a jurisdiction actively seeking to become a global digital finance hub.

The immediate result may only be an MoU, but the bigger development is the direction it signals: Dubai wants to be involved not just in the growth of tokenized assets, but in defining how regulated tokenized markets operate.