RWA project MANTRA reaches a $1 billion asset tokenization protocol with Dubai real estate giant

On January 9, the blockchain project MANTRA, focused on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), announced an agreement with the Dubai real estate group DAMAC Group to plan the tokenization of at least $1 billion in assets in the UAE.

MANTRA has been very active in the RWA sector, and after the mainnet launch in October 2024, its token price experienced a significant surge. Data shows that in 2024, the price of MANTRA (OM) increased by as much as 6418.3%, rising from $0.0584 at the beginning of the year to $3.81 at the end of the year, making it the best-performing RWA investment project of 2024.

MANTRA co-founder and CEO John Mullin stated that DAMAC's support "reflects a great confidence in the prospects of RWA tokenization."

DAMAC is a well-known real estate developer under the Hussain Sajwani family in the UAE, with businesses spanning various fields including real estate, capital markets, hotel resorts, manufacturing, dining, high-end fashion, and data centers. The group owns well-known entities such as DAMAC Properties and has acquired the Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli and the Swiss luxury jewelry brand de GRISOGONO.

This collaboration aims to provide token-based financing for DAMAC's portfolio companies, covering the fields of real estate, hospitality, and data centers. This partnership will enhance the accessibility of investments and streamline the process, with the tokenization of these assets expected to begin in early 2025.

Currently, MANTRA operates in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, but its main operational focus is in the Middle East, especially Dubai. Last year, MANTRA also reached an agreement with developer MAG Property Development to tokenize real estate assets worth a total of $500 million. In addition, MANTRA signed a memorandum of understanding with UAE digital bank Zand Bank, and the two parties will cooperate to develop a framework supporting RWA tokenization and distribution.

In 2024, MANTRA completed a $11 million financing round and received strategic investment from Laser Digital, a digital asset subsidiary of Nomura Securities. The project has developed an RWA suite that includes digital identity (DID), compliance system MANTRA Guard, token management system MTS, decentralized exchange (DEX), and liquidity-efficient emission protocol (LEEP).

The MANTRA mainnet will be launched on October 23, 2024. Users can bridge OM Token from ERC-20 to the MANTRA mainnet, stake OM to protect the network and earn rewards, as well as earn KARMA by completing new tasks.

John Mullin stated that MANTRA's goal is to become a ledger for asset issuance or RWA. He emphasized the importance of public blockchains in the widespread adoption of RWA, as well as MANTRA's efforts in building a permissionless layer to support asset issuance, tokenization, and management.

Mullin also mentioned that MANTRA is expanding its DApp ecosystem, including a secondary market, the upcoming licensed on-chain RWA liquidity center Omega, and collaborations with various DeFi providers in lending, borrowing, and real estate product segmentation. He also mentioned explorations in private credit, payments, and carbon credits.

Looking to the future, Mullin outlined a three-phase development approach for the RWA sector: the first phase focuses on bringing high-quality assets onto the chain; the second phase focuses on liquidity and secondary markets; and the final phase will unlock the composability of RWA. He expressed hope that by the end of 2026, MANTRA could reach a total locked value of 100 billion dollars in RWA.

The collaboration between MANTRA and DAMAC marks further application of blockchain technology in the tokenization of real estate in the Middle East, and provides new opportunities for the RWA sector. With MANTRA's continued expansion in the RWA field, the project demonstrates formidable strength.