Ripple expands global custody footprint into Middle East with Ctrl Alt pact
The partnership sees Ctrl Alt using Ripple's digital asset custody technology to support the Dubai Land Department's (DLD) pioneering Real Estate Tokenization Project by delivering scalable and secure storage for Dubai's tokenized real estate title deeds, which are being issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
Ctrl Alt, which announced its involvement in the DLD project last month, becomes Ripple's first major custody partner in the UAE, underscoring the growing demand for secure, compliant digital asset infrastructure in the region. Ripple's expanding global custody network now includes clients across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
'The Dubai Land Department's Real Estate Tokenization Project is a perfect example of the type of forward-thinking, innovative initiative that is positioning Dubai at the heart of the global digital asset industry,' said Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, at Ripple. 'This is the first time a government real estate registration authority in the Middle East has tokenized property title deeds on a public blockchain. That the DLD has chosen the XRPL for this is really exciting and reinforces the XRPL's credentials as the blockchain of choice for serious financial use cases. We're delighted that Ctrl Alt has chosen our institutional-grade digital asset custody technology to support the delivery of this project.'
Ctrl Alt recently secured its VASP license from VARA, becoming the first VASP authorized to conduct Issuer-related services. This regulatory milestone formally connects token issuance with custody of real-world assets, enabling a compliant tokenization process, from asset issuance to secure custody, on-chain settlement, and lifecycle management.
'As the tokenization infrastructure provider for the DLD Project, Ctrl Alt brings deep expertise in financial engineering and digital asset infrastructure, so it makes sense for us to partner with Ripple to use their custody technology to support this initiative,' said Matt Ong, CEO and Founder, Ctrl Alt. 'Partnering with Ripple allows us to leverage proven and trusted technology that meets the highest security and operational standards. We're excited to work with them and bring Dubai real estate investment opportunities to a wider audience.'
The DLD Real Estate Tokenization Project represents a significant milestone for asset tokenization and property investment in Dubai. With this move, Dubai is leading the charge toward a more accessible, transparent and efficient real estate market, broadening investor participation and enhancing operational efficiency. Through the tokenization of title deeds, it also enables fractional ownership of real estate, allowing multiple investors to co-own a single property.
Ripple has experienced significant positive momentum in the UAE since becoming the first blockchain-enabled payments provider to be licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) earlier this year. In addition to establishing partnerships with Zand Bank, which is also partnering with the DLD project, and Mamo who will utilize Ripple's blockchain-enabled cross-border payments solution, Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD was recently approved as a recognised crypto token by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) for use within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
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