Saudi Arabia Pushes Tokenization to Protect Economy From Global Shocks

Saudi Arabia is moving deeper into blockchain-based finance as Faisal Monai, chairman of droppRWA and one of the architects behind the kingdom’s digital payment system, leads a $12.5 billion effort to tokenize real world assets.

Monai, known for helping build Saudi Arabia’s digital payments infrastructure through the SADAD system, said the country plans to bring major sectors including real estate, energy and manufacturing onto blockchain networks. He believes Saudi Arabia could become a global example for sovereign tokenization by 2030.

The push starts with real estate. Monai said droppRWA already completed what it describes as the world’s first tokenized property deed transfer, reducing settlement times from days to seconds. A wider rollout across Saudi Arabia’s multi-trillion-dollar property market is expected.

Stablecoin Settlement Planned for Real Estate by 2026

Monai said stablecoin settlement for Saudi real estate could go live by late 2026 under regulatory oversight from the Saudi Central Bank and Capital Market Authority.

He argued tokenization can help Gulf economies reduce risks during global uncertainty by improving ownership records, faster settlements and asset security.

Saudi Arabia Sees Blockchain as Financial Infrastructure

Monai also dismissed ideas that Gulf nations are abandoning the U.S. dollar, saying Saudi Arabia instead supports a “multi-rail” financial system where digital settlement works alongside traditional banking. He added that during recent geopolitical tensions, crypto markets remained active even while traditional markets were closed, highlighting the value of always-on financial infrastructure.