Tokenising property in Thailand is reshaping investment futures

Thailand’s bid to position itself as a hub for digital finance is gathering momentum, but marrying blockchain incentives to a physical asset class is an uncertain process

On paper, RealX looked like a win-win. A billion-baht fundraising, fractional condo ownership sliced down to the square inch, guaranteed yields for the first five years, and tokens trading around the clock on Thailand’s biggest digital exchanges. It was billed as the future of property investment. Blockchain-enabled, retail-friendly, and regulator-approved.

Yet the secondary market told a different story. On its debut, RealX traded below its issue price. Trading was thin, and the early buzz gave way to a familiar hesitation: Liquidity and trust are harder to engineer than regulation or technology.

Policymakers, meanwhile, have doubled down. In June, the Cabinet approved a draft regulation granting a five-year personal income tax exemption on digital-asset gains, provided trades are made on licensed domestic platforms. Combined with an extended VAT exemption issued in 2024, the measure is meant to pull trading onshore and reinforce Bangkok’s bid to become a regional digital-asset hub.

“The tax exemption supports Thailand’s digital-asset hub goal and should increase medium-term tax revenue by at least THB1 billion (USD30.5 million),” Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said at the time.

But the fine print matters. The draft still needs to be issued as law, and even then, the scope will be narrow.

“The exemption will only apply to transactions handled by SEC-licensed exchanges, brokers, or dealers under Thailand’s digital-asset business laws,” notes Paul Ashburn, co-managing partner of accountants HLB Thailand.

That focus reflects the government’s strategy: Use tax incentives to channel trading through regulated local platforms. RealX has become the test case. In mid2023, it raised about THB2.4 billion from the sale of 13.19 million tokens at THB 182 each. Trading began that September on TDX, with officials watching closely.

The underlying assets are three Park Origin condominium towers in Bangkok—Phrom Phong, Phayathai, and Thonglor—projects with strong names but unsold stock the developer wanted to reposition as investable. Investors were promised quarterly yields of 4–5 percent for the first five years, followed by payouts tied to condo sales as tokens were redeemed and burned.

The SEC signed off on RealX’s structure, requiring disclosure, governance standards, and baht-denominated payouts on licensed exchanges. That approval was critical. Tokenisation wasn’t new—Sansiri’s SIRIHUB raised THB2 billion in 2021—but RealX was the first large-scale attempt to combine guaranteed yields, retail access, and a functioning secondary market. Its debut has already inspired imitators, with InnovestX and Token X preparing SUMX, a token backed by the Summer Point office complex, later this year.

We are moving past the experimental phase and into early adoption. The ability to grant liquidity to a historically illiquid asset and to fractionalise ownership is a fundamental improvement

Even so, the legal scaffolding is incomplete. Token holders gain only economic rights through an SPV or trust, not land title—the Land Department’s 49 percent foreign-ownership cap for condos still applies, and smart contracts have no standing in Thai courts. To limit risks, the SEC requires projects to be completed, worth at least THB500 million, overseen by trustees with majority control and supported by independent valuations and risk disclosures.

The framework is designed to protect investors, but it leaves unanswered questions about enforcement and underscores how fragile the bridge remains between tokens on-chain and property off-chain.

Even with rules still in flux, exchanges see opportunity. “We’re seeing the emergence of a completely new category of demand,” says Jirayut Srupsrisopa, founder and CEO of Bitkub, a leading digital asset and cryptocurrency exchange. “The demand for tokenised real estate marks the rise of what the crypto industry calls Real World Assets.”

Unlike crypto behemoths Bitcoin or Ethereum, which trade largely on expectations of future adoption, real-world assets are anchored in present-day value and cash flow. In the case of RealX, investors are effectively buying into rental income from specific condominiums.

That has brought together two groups that rarely overlapped. Traditional property investors, already comfortable with REITs and physical real estate, are using tokens as a bridge into the digital space. Cryptonatives, by contrast, see real-world assets as a way to diversify portfolios and hedge against volatility while staying within the ecosystem. Together, they are creating a hybrid market where the logic of property and the logic of crypto converge.

Developers, however, remain cautious. Origin took the plunge, but other major names have yet to follow. The hesitation is understandable: reputational risk if tokens falter, fragile secondary markets, and lingering doubts about enforceability. Guaranteed yields may build early confidence but are unlikely to be sustainable. The initial dip in RealX’s trading price was a reminder that token values and property values can diverge quickly, testing investor trust.

Jirayut argues these challenges should be seen as growing pains. “We are moving past the experimental phase and into early adoption,” he says. “The ability to grant liquidity to a historically illiquid asset and to fractionalise ownership is a fundamental improvement.”

Still, much remains unresolved. Platforms must ensure the bridge between tokens and assets is legally watertight. Regulators must refine frameworks to standardise tokenholder rights.

The Bank of Thailand continues to ban crypto for everyday payments but is piloting programmable-payment systems in its sandbox, while the government’s “G-Token” project signals plans for state-backed tokenisation. Exchanges are investing in stronger infrastructure, investor education, and a broader range of assets beyond condominiums.

For investors, tax clarity will be crucial. Even if the capital gains exemption becomes law, tokenised yields will still face a flat 15 percent withholding tax, with no refund or credit, according to Ashburn. Policymakers may hope tokenisation brings both innovation and revenue, but investors are right to remain cautious.

Tokenisation will not resolve Bangkok’s oversupply of condos or revive sluggish sales overnight. What it does show is a serious policy push and a nascent appetite among both traditional and digital investors. Thailand has gone further than most in marrying blockchain incentives with property innovation.

Whether that evolves into a structural solution depends on how quickly regulators, developers, and exchanges can close the gap between promise and practice. If they succeed, Bangkok could become a proving ground for blockchain’s role in real estate. If not, tokenisation risks being remembered as another financial experiment that ran ahead of itself.

The original version of this article appeared in PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine Issue No. 192 on issuu and Magzter. Write to our editors at [email protected].