Bergen County, New Jersey, is partnering with real estate infrastructure firm Balcony to change how it handles real estate records by migrating its entire property deed system onto the Avalanche blockchain (AVAX).
This move will see one of the largest real estate tokenization packages in the United States, accounting for a total of 370,000 deeds, which are collectively valued at about $240 billion.
The five-year agreement will see the county’s records, which span 70 municipalities and nearly one million residents, digitized into an immutable, searchable ledger powered by Avalanche’s infrastructure.
According to John Hogan, County Clerk of Bergen, the initiative is aimed at improving the lives of residents. In a statement, he said, “By digitizing property records, we are making the process simpler, faster, and more secure for homeowners, businesses, and future generations.”
New Jersey jumps into the real-world asset tokenization scene
Boston Consulting Group and Ripple pointed out the growing trend of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization in a recent report, estimating that the market could grow to $18.9 trillion by 2033, with real estate accounting for a significant share of that growth.
Bergen County’s partnership with Balcony is part of a broader effort to capitalize on blockchain’s ability to reduce inefficiencies and improve access to vital records.
Before its new partnership with Bergen County, Balcony’s platform has already been deployed in other areas in New Jersey, such as Orange and Camden County, reportedly slashing deed processing times by up to 90% and helping uncover millions in previously uncollected municipal revenue.
In Orange, New Jersey, for example, Balcony’s system reportedly detected nearly $1 million in lost revenue due to outdated or missing property records.
A broader adoption of RWA tokenization
This isn’t the first time the Avalanche blockchain has been used to tokenize RWAs. In 2024, the California Department of Motor Vehicles partnered with software firm Oxhead Alpha to digitize 42 million vehicle titles on Avalanche, with the aim to streamline ownership transfers and reduce title fraud.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Dubai Land Department recently unveiled a real estate tokenization platform built on the XRP Ledger, targeting 7% of all real estate transactions worth roughly $16 billion to be conducted via blockchain as part of the city’s digital transformation strategy.
These initiatives reflect a shift toward using blockchain not just for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies but as a foundational infrastructure for real-world operations. Tokenized property deeds offer several advantages over paper-based systems, including tamper-proof records, real-time updates, reduced administrative costs, and increased accessibility for both officials and citizens.
Bergen County could be an RWA case study
Bergen County, a wealthy suburb, has decided to go on-chain and is expected to act as a blueprint for other U.S. counties and municipalities exploring blockchain-based public services and give others with cold feet the boost to consider it as well.
It also places Avalanche at the forefront of the RWA tokenization space, potentially paving the way for more partnerships with public and private entities.
For residents of Bergen County, the most immediate benefits will likely include quicker title transfers, enhanced fraud prevention, and more transparent access to property records. In the long term, the project could lead to new revenue streams and operational efficiencies for the county.
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