Latvia aims for asset tokenization rules in early 2027

Latvia could have rules for putting real-world assets such as commercial property on a blockchain in the first half of 2027, Economics Minister Viktors Valainis told CoinDesk on the sidelines of the UN:BLOCK fintech conference in Riga. Government bonds are also on the list, but key groundwork is late and the country is between governments.

What the minister said

Valainis said his ministry is working with the central bank, the Finance Ministry and industry on a framework meant to attract investment. "If everything goes smoothly, I think next year, first half of the next year, we will already have the regulation," he said.

• Where to start: commercial property would be "a good start". He also mentioned using crypto to buy or sell companies or invest in property, without details.
• State bonds: tokenizing Latvian government bonds is on the "priority list" and "could be done" in the first part of 2027. No issuance size or date was given, and the Treasury did not answer CoinDesk's questions.
• Guardrails: anti-money-laundering controls are a central concern. "We don't want to create something with a big boom and then with a big collapse," he said.
• Industry input: members of the Latvian Blockchain Association, which includes exchanges such as Kraken and Backpack EU, take part in working groups and testing.

Why the timeline is uncertain

The government's own action plan gave the Economics Ministry until Oct. 1 to assess the legal changes needed to tokenize real estate and other assets. Valainis said that work is "still ongoing". His party also won no seats in this month's election, so the project depends on the next coalition keeping it; he said he expects it to stay on the agenda. The economic benefit has not been quantified.

How it fits Europe's experiments

Tokenization means issuing a blockchain-based record of an asset or a right to it, so it can be transferred and settled digitally. Our new explainer on what tokenization is covers the mechanics and risks. Slovenia issued a €30 million digital sovereign bond in July 2024 as part of a European Central Bank trial, and large US firms are already tokenizing repo and fund shares.

Latvia's wider crypto push runs on the EU's MiCA framework: in May 2025 Valainis said about 40 firms were seeking MiCA licences there. He also said the government is working on letting residents pay personal taxes in crypto, and repeated his personal support for a small national bitcoin reserve, though no such plan has been approved.