New Jersey County Bets Big: $240B in Property Deeds Headed to Avalanche Blockchain

Forget paper trails—Bergen County just placed a quarter-trillion-dollar wager on blockchain’s future. Local officials greenlit a plan to tokenize every property deed in the jurisdiction, with Avalanche’s subnet tech handling the heavy lifting.

Why this matters: The move could slash title transfer times from weeks to minutes—assuming the lawyers don’t invent new ways to bill hours. If successful, it’ll be the largest real-world asset (RWA) play in crypto history.

The fine print: While $240B sounds impressive, remember this is New Jersey—where the average homeowner already pays $9,000/year in property taxes. Maybe blockchain can fix that next.

Bergen County Nets $500M Annually in Property Taxes Near NYC

Bergen County, located just northwest of Manhattan and home to nearly a million residents, generates roughly $500 million in annual property tax revenue.

The integration of blockchain technology aims to streamline deed processing while addressing long-standing issues in land record management.

Balcony said the digital ledger will establish a tamper-proof, searchable chain of title across all 70 of the county’s municipalities.

The company expects the MOVE will slash processing times by more than 90%, while reducing risks of fraud, title disputes, and clerical errors.

“This is a turning point for how government systems handle real estate,” said Balcony CEO Dan Silverman.

“We’re demonstrating how secure, distributed systems can replace outdated infrastructure and deliver real-world value for both governments and the public.”

$240B in real estate is coming on-chain.@balconytech is working with Bergen County and multiple other NJ municipalities to digitize property records, and it’s powered by Avalanche.

This is the largest blockchain deed initiative in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/aeI0t5nffp

The Bergen County project brings the total number of tokenized property deeds in New Jersey to around 460,000.

Balcony is already collaborating with other counties including Camden, Orange, and Cliffside Park. In Orange County, officials estimate nearly $1 million in municipal revenue was lost due to outdated and incomplete property records—a gap the firm says blockchain can close.

While the focus is currently on New Jersey, Balcony confirmed plans to expand the program nationally, signaling what could be a broader transformation in the way U.S. counties manage and protect land ownership data.

Tokenization Market Could Reach $16T by 2030

A report by the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and Boston Consulting Group estimates the global value of tokenized illiquid assets will reach $16 trillion by 2030.

Even more conservative estimates from Citigroup suggest that $4 trillion to $5 trillion worth of tokenized digital securities could be minted by 2030.

Recognizing this potential, major companies are making significant moves in the tokenization space.

Goldman Sachs, for instance, plans to launch three new tokenization products later this year, driven by growing client interest.

Some protocols have played a significant role in driving this growth, particularly in terms of active users.

Digital carbon market platforms like Toucan and KlimaDAO, as well as the real estate tokenization protocol Propy, have experienced substantial user growth.