On January 9, the blockchain Layer 1 project MANTRA, focused on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), announced it had reached an agreement with the Dubai-based real estate group DAMAC Group to tokenize at least $1 billion of the group’s assets in the UAE. In the RWA track, MANTRA (OM) has been active over the past year. It launched its mainnet in October 2024, and the token subsequently saw a significant surge. According to CoinGecko data, from January 1 to December 25, 2024, the price of MANTRA (OM) increased by 6418.3%, rising from $0.0584 on January 1 to $3.81 on December 25, making it the top-performing RWA investment project of 2024.

Middle East Becomes a Business Focus, $1 Billion in Assets to Be Tokenized There

John Mullin, the co-founder and CEO of MANTRA, stated that DAMAC’s support “is a huge vote of confidence in the future of RWA tokenization.”

DAMAC is a well-known real estate developer based in the UAE and owned by the Hussain Sajwani family. The group’s investments are divided into seven core sectors: real estate, capital markets, hospitality and resorts, manufacturing, catering, high-end fashion, and data centers. Some of DAMAC Group’s most notable entities include DAMAC Properties. DAMAC has also acquired the Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli and the Swiss luxury jewelry brand de GRISOGONO. It has developed the 50-story DAMAC Towers Nine Elms in London and a luxury resort in the Maldives.

According to The Guardian and the Associated Press, founder Hussain Sajwani is a close friend and business partner of Donald Trump. According to a report by CNBC, the recently elected President Trump announced that UAE billionaire Hussain Sajwani has pledged at least $20 billion in foreign investment for building new data centers in the U.S.

This new agreement between the two parties aims to provide token-based financing for DAMAC’s portfolio companies, covering the real estate, hospitality, and data center sectors. This collaboration will enhance the accessibility of investments and simplify the process, with tokenization of these assets expected to begin in early 2025.

Currently, MANTRA has operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and several other regions, with its main focus of operations 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, with the first project starting from a residential development in Dubai.

Additionally, MANTRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Zand Bank, a digital bank authorized by the Central Bank of the UAE. The cooperation between the two entities will focus on developing a framework to support the tokenization and distribution of RWAs and will comply with the regulations of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

2024 Report: $11 Million in Funding, Mainnet Launch

According to the official annual review, MANTRA was highly active in 2024. As early as March 2024, MANTRA completed $11 million in funding, led by Shorooq Partners. Two months later, MANTRA secured a strategic investment from Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Nomura Securities.

MANTRA has developed an RWA suite, which includes Digital Identity (DID), the compliance system MANTRA Guard, the Token Management System (MTS), a decentralized exchange (DEX), and the Liquidity Efficient Emission Protocol (LEEP). These modules work together, enabling the effective management and liquidity of RWA tokenized assets within a compliant framework.

Among these, the MANTRA Token Service (MTS) is an integrated module that allows for the creation, management, and control of tokenized assets on the MANTRA Chain. Key functions include: token factory, configurable workflows, administrative permissions, comprehensive token management (minting, burning, staking, freezing, distribution), built-in features, jurisdictional compliance, and bank module integration.

MANTRA DEX (Decentralized Exchange) introduces a protocol-layer liquidity pool system, forming the core of the platform’s decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure. It creates a permissionless environment offering blockchain-integrated liquidity, with a special whitelist liquidity pool that functions as the standard automated market maker (AMM) exchange mechanism.

MANTRA LEEP (Liquidity Efficient Emission Protocol) is currently under development and aims to address the common liquidity shortage in the crypto market, especially for assets other than top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. LEEP’s goal is to solve the liquidity problem for tokenized real-world assets, which typically lack liquidity even in traditional markets.

The MANTRA mainnet went live on October 23, 2024. Users can perform several key activities, including: bridging OM tokens from ERC-20 to MANTRA mainnet tokens to gain access to future RWA tokens; staking OM to help secure the network and earn on-chain staking rewards; using OM as an integral part of the RWA ledger; and earning KARMA by completing new tasks on the mainnet.

Still in the First Stage, Bringing High-Quality Assets to the Chain

MANTRA’s CEO Mullin stated in an X Space session last year that the project aims to become the record ledger for asset issuance or RWA.

He said, “For the mass adoption of RWA, whether in the retail market or on a broader market level, we need a public blockchain that is compatible with the wider DeFi ecosystem. At the same time, we have built a permissionless layer in MANTRA that allows asset issuers, tokenization platforms, and regulated marketplaces to easily, simply, and compliantly issue, distribute, and manage RWA.”

He also mentioned MANTRA’s efforts to expand its DApp ecosystem, including the secondary market, an upcoming licensed on-chain RWA liquidity hub — Omega, and collaborations with various DeFi providers in lending, borrowing, and fractionalizing real estate products. He also touched on explorations in areas such as private credit, payments, and carbon credits.

Looking ahead, Mullin outlined a three-stage approach for developing the RWA sector: “Right now, we are in the first stage, focusing on the supply side, bringing high-quality assets onto the chain. The second stage will focus on liquidity and secondary market venues, while the final stage will unlock the composability of RWA, enabling them to be used across different DeFi applications.”

The MANTRA he leads has an ambitious plan: “I hope that by the end of 2026, we will reach $100 billion in RWA TVL. Right now, we are really teaching people how to operate on-chain one step at a time, and it’s moving very slowly. But we are genuinely attracting new funds, new capital, and people who have never done this before. This is a very powerful thing. Over time, it will create a snowball effect, eventually taking us to the top of the RWA space. But this will take time.”

Overall, MANTRA’s collaboration with DAMAC marks further application of blockchain technology in tokenizing real estate in the Middle East and provides new opportunities for the RWA sector. With MANTRA’s continued expansion in the RWA space, the project has already demonstrated significant potential. Can MANTRA become the leader in RWA? PANews will closely follow the developments.

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