Editor’s Note
This article highlights a significant step in asset tokenization, with a Ripple-backed platform securing $280 million to underpin a diamond tokenization initiative in the UAE. It demonstrates the growing institutional application of blockchain technology for real-world assets.
The project has already moved over $280 million worth of cut diamonds onto the blockchain in Dubai, with Ripple providing the custody infrastructure as the companies work towards a regulated tokenized trading setup.
Billiton Diamond and tokenization firm Ctrl Alt have transferred over $280 million in certified polished diamonds onto the blockchain in the United Arab Emirates using Ripple’s custody technology and the XRP Ledger.
The project aims to create an institutional-grade tokenization chain for polished stones, but the broader deployment and distribution of the platform will depend on approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
While Ripple provides the underlying custody and token infrastructure, key market details such as redemption mechanisms, minimum lot sizes, and pricing for individual stones remain unclear, raising questions about the tokens’ tradability beyond a controlled pilot.
While the companies position the project as a path to faster settlement and clearer provenance data, the next phase depends on regulatory approval: a broader platform launch and any push for wider distribution would be subject to approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The companies said Ripple’s enterprise custody tools would secure the tokenized inventory, while the XRPL would handle issuance and transfers. This places Ripple in the infrastructure layer rather than the market layer — an important distinction, as the real challenge for tokenized commodities lies not in creating the tokens, but in their ability to be meaningfully traded with tight spreads, reliable pricing, and clear redemption mechanisms.
The companies also flagged a longer period for “lifecycle” features — such as custody, transfers, and preparation for secondary markets — but did not share details on how redemptions would work, what minimum lot sizes might be, or how pricing would be formed for individual stones, all key factors for any market looking to move beyond a controlled pilot.
Dubai’s DMCC indicated it played a coordinating role in connecting stakeholders and supporting the ecosystem around commodity tokenization, as the emirate works to make RWAs a real business line.