Understanding Real-Estate Tokenization and Its Impact on Digital Assets
- Mark Lafond, RA
- Sep 24, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 22
Redefining Wealth Transfer and Investment in the 4th Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping value creation across industries, including the built environment, through converging advances in automation, artificial intelligence, data, and connectivity. For real estate, this wave means digitized ownership records, programmable contracts, continuous asset telemetry, and analytics that inform capital allocation in near real time. [1] World Economic Forum
Tokenization sits at the center of this shift. In financial market design, policy institutions now frame tokenized platforms as part of a next-generation monetary system, one that natively represents claims on central bank money, commercial bank money, and securities, and that enables atomic settlement and new forms of collateral mobility. [2] Bank for International Settlements
Web3, Blockchain, and the Real Estate Stack
Web3 brings programmable infrastructure for identity, ownership, and exchange. For real estate, this means property interests, revenue streams, and compliance rules can be represented as digital tokens, with transfers and encumbrances governed by code and anchored to verifiable data sources. Global forums describe tokenization as a model that improves transparency and accessibility, while surfacing implementation challenges, especially where off-chain enforcement is required for physical assets. [3][4] World Economic Forum+1
Meanwhile, large financial institutions are operationalizing this stack. JPMorgan’s Onyx initiatives, rebranded as Kinexys, and similar bank-led networks are building the connective tissue for tokenized deposits, securities, and payments that real estate cap tables and cash flows can plug into. [5] JPMorgan Chase
The Great Wealth Transfer, A New Demand Curve
Forecasts now place the intergenerational wealth transfer in the United States at about $124 trillion through 2048, a scale that will influence portfolio construction for decades. As younger heirs assume control, demand rises for assets that are transparent, divisible, and tradable on modern rails, including fractional property interests and tokenized income streams. [6] Cerulli Associates
Real Estate Tokenization, Democratizing Access and Liquidity
Tokenization converts ownership rights into digital units, enabling fractional participation, continuous price discovery, and programmable distribution of rent and other cash flows. Analysts project a significant ramp, with one forecast estimating roughly $4 trillion in tokenized real estate by 2035, up from less than $300 billion in 2024. [7] Deloitte
Institutional adoption is accelerating across adjacent asset classes, laying infrastructure that real estate issuers can reuse. BlackRock’s BUIDL, a tokenized liquidity fund on a public chain, surpassed $1 billion in assets by March 2025, demonstrating how regulated tokens can carry yield and settle at internet speed for qualified participants. [8] PR Newswire
In July 2025, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon launched tokens tied to money-market funds, with BNY’s LiquidityDirect as a distribution surface and Goldman’s ledger managing token ownership. This is a concrete step toward making tokenized cash and collateral routine, a prerequisite for broad adoption of tokenized real estate. [9] Reuters
Real-Estate Tokenization
AI, IoT, and Data, The Operating System of Smart Property
On the operations side, sensors and building management systems stream granular data on occupancy, energy, comfort, and equipment health. Paired with artificial intelligence, owners can run predictive maintenance, optimize leases, and price risk with more confidence. This same data can feed token contracts, automating performance-based payouts or sustainability-linked obligations. [10] Deloitte
CBDCs, Stable Value, and On-Chain Settlement
Tokenized real estate benefits from credible, low-volatility settlement assets. Central banks report widespread experimentation with central bank digital currencies, and policy analysis suggests as many as fifteen CBDCs could be live by 2030. Wholesale experiments, along with tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins, are expected to reduce settlement frictions and broaden eligible collateral for on-chain finance that supports real estate issuance and trading. [11] IMF
Outlook, From Pilots to Production
Real estate stands at the intersection of the Great Wealth Transfer, institutional tokenization, and the data-rich operating models of smart buildings. As regulated token platforms mature and on-chain money options expand, issuers gain the tooling to fractionalize assets compliantly, compress settlement timelines, and open distribution to a wider base of investors. With measured governance, robust custodial controls, and careful alignment between on-chain records and off-chain legal rights, stakeholders can convert today’s pilots into scalable production systems that reshape property ownership and investment. [2][3][7]
Works Cited
[1] World Economic Forum. “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” 3 June 2025.
[2] Bank for International Settlements. “The Next-Generation Monetary and Financial System.” BIS Annual Economic Report, 24 June 2025.
[3] World Economic Forum. Asset Tokenization in Financial Markets: The Next Generation of Value Exchange. 21 May 2025.
[4] Bank for International Settlements. “Tokenisation in the Context of Money and Other Assets.” Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures Paper, 26 Oct. 2024.
[5] JPMorgan. “Introducing Kinexys.” 6 Nov. 2024.
[6] Cerulli Associates. “Cerulli Anticipates $124 Trillion in Wealth Will Transfer Through 2048.” 5 Dec. 2024.
[7] Deloitte Center for Financial Services. “Tokenized Real Estate.” 24 Apr. 2025.
[8] BlackRock and Securitize. “BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) Surpasses $1B in AUM.” 13 Mar. 2025.
[9] Reuters. “Goldman Sachs and BNY Team Up to Launch Tokens Tied to Money-Market Funds.” 23 July 2025.
[10] Deloitte Insights. “Generative AI in Real Estate, Benefits and Use Cases.” 5 Dec. 2023.
[11] International Monetary Fund. Central Bank Digital Currency: Progress and Further Opportunities. 1 Nov. 2024.
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