Chainlink and Balcony have announced a large-scale strategic partnership. The goal is to digitize properties valued at $240 billion in New Jersey. This move focuses on the real estate tokenization of public properties in Bergen County. The information was confirmed in an official statement released by Balcony. The plan involves digitizing 370,000 to 460,000 deeds over five years, transforming public records into verifiable digital assets.
The initiative will utilize the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE). This environment will operate within Balcony’s Keystone platform. Property records will be uploaded to the Avalanche blockchain, as detailed in the statement. The project aims to modernize Bergen County’s deeds. This promises to reduce current friction when verifying property titles. It will also facilitate real estate buying and selling processes. Information that is currently isolated will become verifiable on-chain data. The initial rollout is massive. Between 370,000 and 460,000 deeds will be digitized over a five-year horizon. The minimum investment announced to participate in these tokenized assets will be $1,000.
This agreement marks a significant milestone for the Real World Assets (RWA) sector. The real estate tokenization is seen as the next major financial frontier. Recent studies cited in the sector place the real estate tokenization market at $2.632 billion in 2024. Projections estimate it will reach $1.7 trillion by 2027. This represents an annual growth rate of over 23%.
The choice of Avalanche is not coincidental. A network capable of supporting high transaction volume and history searches without congestion is required. Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, highlighted the importance of the CRE. He stated that the CRE has the potential to generate an effect similar to the EVM, alluding to its ability to move verifiable data across chains.
Is a new real estate liquidity market being unlocked?
The partnership creates new opportunities as well as operational tensions. Tokenization allows for fractional investment, with accessible minimum amounts starting at $1,000. This dramatically expands the investor audience. Furthermore, it improves the liquidity of a traditionally illiquid asset. Chainlink will add value through its price feeds and proofs of reserves.
These mechanisms ensure the backing and value tracking of the tokens. However, significant regulatory challenges persist in the United States. The classification of these tokens under the Howey test remains unclear. Meanwhile, the European Union’s MiCA framework already offers a clearer path for tokenization.
The agreement with Bergen County, dated May 28, 2025, sets a clear five-year horizon. This timeline will be the first real indicator to assess the viability of large-scale real estate tokenization. The project’s success will depend on the interoperability of public records. It will also be crucial to observe how regulators respond as the model seeks to expand into other jurisdictions. Operational scalability and the legal acceptance of on-chain titles are the next major challenges.
