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Dubai’s PRYPCO Mint Is MENA’s First Tokenized Real Estate Project
Dubai Land Department has partnered with PRYPCO to launch the tokenization platform offering fractional property investment starting from AED 2,000.
Dubai has taken a major leap in real estate innovation with the launch of the MENA region’s first tokenized property investment project, initiated by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in collaboration with PRYPCO. The platform, known as PRYPCO Mint, was unveiled as part of a pilot program that enables fractional investment in prime Dubai real estate, with participation starting from just AED 2,000.
This pioneering move is supported by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the Central Bank of the UAE, and the Dubai Future Foundation. The initiative reflects the UAE’s growing focus on digital infrastructure and regulatory innovation, with Zand Digital Bank appointed as the banking partner for the pilot phase.
Accessible at mint.prypco.com, the platform currently accepts only UAE ID holders and transacts exclusively in UAE Dirhams, with no cryptocurrencies involved during the pilot. Investors can view detailed property data including pricing, technical specifications, risk profiles, and expected returns. Each investment is backed by legally documented ownership issued by the DLD, offering a transparent, secure, and hassle-free entry into the real estate market.
The project stems from a strategic alliance between DLD, PRYPCO, and Ctrl Alt Solutions, aiming to create a clear legal and operational framework for asset tokenization. Tokenized assets are expected to make up up to 7% of Dubai’s real estate market by 2033, potentially representing AED 60 billion (USD 16 billion) in value.
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Oversight is shared between the DLD and VARA, ensuring coordination between physical and digital asset regulation. The Central Bank adds an extra layer of protection through its Client Money Account (CMA) system, where investor funds are held in escrow until purchases are finalized, ensuring full transactional transparency.
In its pilot phase, the project is restricted to ready-to-own properties and limited to licensed tokenization firms — currently PRYPCO and Ctrl Alt — with plans to onboard more as the framework matures. Investors benefit from both rental income and capital appreciation, without the traditional burdens of property management.
The initiative signals a new chapter for real estate investment in the region, combining digital efficiency with regulatory rigor to unlock broader access and long-term economic value.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
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The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
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