DigiFT, a regulated digital asset exchange for institutional-grade real-world assets (“RWAs”), announced a strategic collaboration with Hines, a leading global real estate investment manager, to support the regulated on-chain tokenization and distribution of an indirect investment in a Hines-sponsored and managed real estate portfolio.
Available exclusively to Accredited Investors, Professional Investors, and Institutional Investors, the offering gives tokenized access to a fund that invests in an over US$6 billion global real estate portfolio sponsored by Hines, reflecting growing alignment between leading asset managers and regulated digital platforms seeking to enhance capital markets infrastructure, without altering underlying fund structures or regulatory safeguards.
The collaboration reflects one of the first on-chain distribution implementations for an indirect investment in institutional-quality private real estate—an asset class historically characterized by high minimum investment sizes and complex operational requirements. The offering is also among the first instances in which a tokenized representation is directly linked to an underlying investment in a multi-billion dollar global real estate portfolio managed by a leading global real estate investment manager.
Modernizing How Individual Investors Access Private Markets
Private real estate has long been a cornerstone of institutional portfolios, but evolving investor expectations around access, efficiency, and cross-border participation are increasingly shaping how such strategies are distributed.
Global private real estate represents one of the largest asset classes in institutional portfolios, with total market size estimated at US$1.48 trillion globally as of September 2025 (Source: Ocorian). Private wealth allocations to real assets have continued to grow as investors seek income, diversification, and resilience across market cycles. As private markets expand, leading global asset managers are increasingly exploring innovative models to improve access, efficiency, and cross-border reach.
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“Innovation has been a key driver in elevating Hines’ investment strategies, product development, and distribution approaches,” said Paul Ferraro, Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions at Hines. “We aim to expand global access to institutional-quality global real estate through modern and regulated channels while maintaining strong governance and investor safeguards. Our collaboration with DigiFT marks an important step in exploring tokenization and on-chain distribution, while advancing more efficient and diversified access for private wealth investors.”
“Across Asia, investors are embracing more efficient and technology enabled ways to access real estate opportunities,” said Hao Zhan, Head of Asia, Private Wealth Solutions at Hines. “Working with regulated digital platforms like DigiFT strengthens our ability to offer secure and innovative channels tailored to the region’s evolving needs. This initiative enhances accessibility and reflects our commitment to delivering institutional grade solutions to individual investors in Asia Pacific.”
DigiFT’s regulated digital infrastructure enables asset managers such as Hines to support digital issuance and ownership tracking alongside existing fund structures, without changing how strategies are managed, governed, or regulated.
“This collaboration reflects a broader shift we’re seeing across institutional markets,” said Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO of DigiFT. “Tokenization isn’t about changing the asset. It’s about improving how institutional strategies are distributed, administered, and accessed within an increasingly open and interconnected global financial system.”
Institutional Alignment, Regulated Infrastructure
This collaboration reflects how tokenization is moving up the institutional capital stack – from short-duration and highly liquid instruments toward core private market assets such as global real estate—supported by compliant, institution-ready on-chain infrastructure.
The structure supports:
- Digital issuance and ownership records
- Streamlined distribution to eligible investors across jurisdictions
- A foundation for compliant secondary transfers over time
For DigiFT, the initiative reinforces its role as an institutional bridge between traditional asset managers and next-generation capital markets infrastructure.
Hines brings decades of global real estate investing and operating expertise, while DigiFT provides licensed issuance, distribution, and secondary market infrastructure across global capital markets. The collaboration reflects growing alignment between established asset managers and regulated digital platforms seeking to enhance capital markets infrastructure, without compromising investor protections or regulatory expectations.
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