Editor’s Note
This article discusses a significant move to tokenize high-value diamonds on a blockchain. While the partnership between Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt, utilizing Ripple’s technology, represents a major step toward an institutional-grade asset pipeline, readers should note that the full launch of the platform remains contingent on regulatory approval in Dubai.
Billiton Diamond and tokenization company Ctrl Alt have transferred over $280 million worth of certified polished diamonds in the UAE onto the blockchain using Ripple’s custody technology and the XRP Ledger.
The project aims to create an institutional-grade tokenized pipeline for gemstones, but broader platform launch and distribution depend on approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
While Ripple provides the underlying custody and token infrastructure, key market details such as redemption methods, minimum lot sizes, and pricing for individual stones remain unclear, raising questions about how tradable the tokens will be beyond a controlled pilot.
Billiton Diamond and tokenization company Ctrl Alt said on Tuesday they had transferred over $280 million worth of certified polished diamonds in the UAE onto the blockchain, utilizing Ripple’s custody technology to secure the assets and the XRP Ledger to mint tokens linked to physical inventories.
The initiative – presented as an institutional tokenization pipeline for polished gemstones held in the UAE – has already tokenized diamond inventories worth over 1 billion AED ($280 million), according to the companies.
While the companies position the project as a path to faster settlements and clearer provenance data, the next phase depends on regulatory approval: a broader platform launch and any steps toward wider distribution would be subject to the consent of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The companies stated that Ripple’s Enterprise Custody tools will secure the tokenized inventories, while the XRPL handles issuance and transfers. This positions Ripple at the infrastructure level, not the marketplace level – a distinction that matters because the trickier question for tokenized commodities is not minting tokens, but whether they can be traded meaningfully with tight spreads, reliable pricing, and clear redemption mechanisms.
Dubai’s DMCC stated it had taken on a coordinating role by connecting stakeholders and supporting the ecosystem around commodity tokenization, as the emirate aims to make RWAs (Real World Assets) a genuine business line.
