New Jersey county to tokenize $240B property deeds

Bergen County, New Jersey’s most populous county, is undertaking a significant blockchain initiative: the tokenization of $240 billion worth of property deeds. This landmark project, announced May 28th, 2025, represents the largest blockchain-based deed tokenization project in US history. The five-year deal with blockchain firm Balcony will see 370,000 deeds placed on the Avalanche blockchain. Backed by Blizzard, an Avalanche-focused venture capital fund, this initiative aims to revolutionize property record management.

Balcony’s technology provides a tamper-proof, searchable chain of title across Bergen County’s 70 municipalities. The expected outcome is a dramatic reduction in deed processing times—over 90%—along with a significant decrease in fraud, title disputes, and administrative errors. This modernization is projected to yield substantial cost savings and efficiency gains for the county, which currently generates approximately $500 million annually in property tax revenue.

Balcony CEO Dan Silverman described the project as a “turning point” for government record systems and the real estate industry. The initiative showcases the potential of secure, distributed ledger technology to replace outdated infrastructure and deliver tangible benefits to both governments and the public. The project’s success is further underscored by the fact that Orange County, New Jersey, reportedly lost nearly $1 million in municipal revenue due to inefficiencies in its existing record-keeping system.

This Bergen County project is not an isolated case. Balcony is actively collaborating with other New Jersey counties, including Camden, Orange, and Cliffside Park, to implement similar solutions. With approximately 460,000 deeds now tokenized across New Jersey, Balcony anticipates future expansion beyond the state, demonstrating the growing adoption of blockchain technology in the real estate sector. The project highlights the potential for blockchain to address inefficiencies and vulnerabilities in traditional land record management systems, leading to increased transparency, security, and cost-effectiveness.