Grant Cardone’s investment firm, Cardone Capital, has unveiled plans to bring its $5 billion property portfolio onto the blockchain, marking one of the largest real estate tokenization initiatives announced to date.
Key Takeaways
Cardone Capital plans to tokenize $5 billion in U.S. real estate equity.
Investors would gain fractional ownership and potential secondary-market liquidity.
The firm is seeking an Ethereum Layer 2 partner to support high-volume trading.
Offerings will comply with SEC securities rules and target accredited investors.
The company’s announcement outlines a strategy to convert equity from the firm’s nationwide portfolio of multifamily and commercial properties into digital tokens. The move is designed to expand investor access, enable fractional ownership, and introduce secondary-market liquidity into an asset class traditionally known for long lock-up periods.
A Multi-Billion Dollar Shift Toward On-Chain Real Estate
Cardone Capital’s plan centers on transforming ownership stakes in U.S. properties into blockchain-based securities. By issuing tokens backed by real estate equity, the firm aims to create tradable digital instruments that mirror the income and appreciation rights typically associated with private real estate funds or REIT-style structures.
Investors would gain access to on-chain collateral, rental income distributions, and potential property value appreciation. Unlike conventional real estate investments that often require 5- to 10-year holding periods, the tokenized structure seeks to introduce a controlled secondary trading environment as early as mid-2026.
The initiative builds on the firm’s broader digital asset strategy. In June 2025, Cardone Capital purchased 1,000 Bitcoin and indicated plans to deploy property cash flows into additional BTC acquisitions, signaling a long-term alignment between real assets and blockchain infrastructure.
Searching for the Right Blockchain Infrastructure
To execute the project at scale, Cardone Capital is actively evaluating Ethereum Layer 2 networks capable of handling high transaction throughput with lower gas fees. While Ethereum and its scaling ecosystems remain the primary focus, alternative infrastructures such as JPMorgan’s Onyx platform and established tokenized real estate protocols like RealT and RedSwan are being reviewed as technical benchmarks.
The tokens are expected to use advanced standards such as ERC-1400, which embed compliance mechanisms – including identity verification and transfer restrictions – directly into smart contracts. This structure is designed to align with U.S. securities laws while maintaining operational flexibility.
Regulatory Guardrails and Investor Eligibility
Because tokenized real estate offerings fall under securities regulation, compliance remains central to the rollout. The firm is expected to rely on Regulation D for U.S. private placements and Regulation S for international investors.
Participation will require full KYC and AML verification, and access will likely be limited to accredited investors who meet specific income or net-worth thresholds. These restrictions reflect the current stance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which treats tokenized real estate as a regulated security rather than a purely digital asset.
Industry Momentum Accelerates
Cardone Capital’s move arrives as tokenization gains traction among global financial institutions.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, launched in 2024, has grown into the largest tokenized money market product with nearly $3 billion in assets. JPMorgan has expanded its blockchain division under the Kinexys brand and introduced tokenized yield funds on Ethereum. Goldman Sachs is reportedly spinning out its GS DAP platform following multiple digital bond issuances, while Franklin Templeton has already processed fund transactions on public blockchains like Stellar and Polygon.
Beyond Wall Street, the Trump Organization is tokenizing loan revenue tied to its Maldives resort project, highlighting how traditional property developers are beginning to experiment with blockchain-based financing models.
A Market Poised for Expansion – With Bottlenecks
According to projections cited by Deloitte, up to $4 trillion worth of real estate could be tokenized by 2035. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries alone reached roughly $9 billion in market value by the end of 2025, signaling early institutional acceptance of blockchain-based securities.
Surveys indicate that more than three-quarters of institutional investors plan to allocate capital to tokenized assets by the end of 2026. At the same time, regulatory complexity and thin secondary-market liquidity remain key constraints that could slow large-scale adoption.
Cardone Capital’s $5 billion initiative represents one of the boldest attempts to move tokenization from pilot programs into large-scale execution. Whether it succeeds may depend less on technology and more on regulatory clarity and the depth of demand in emerging digital securities markets.
