SBI partners with Startale to build a new on-chain stock infrastructure: Strium targets tokenized securities and the Asian RWA market

Headquartered in Tokyo, financial giant SBI Holdings announced a deep partnership with blockchain R&D company Startale Group to launch a customized Layer 1 network called “Strium” for tokenized stocks and real-world assets. This network will serve as the core infrastructure for on-chain securities markets, supporting 24/7 spot and derivatives stock trading, cross-border settlement, partial ownership, and DeFi composability.

Strium aims to build a “blockchain-native securities market” architecture, distinct from current perpetual contract systems primarily serving crypto assets. The project team stated that the network will not directly issue or custody assets but will facilitate faster liquidity formation in global capital markets through decentralized settlement and routing mechanisms, enabling scalable access.

As early as August 2025, SBI and Startale announced the joint development of a 24/7 RWA trading platform covering stocks in the US, Japan, and other countries. This proof of concept marks an upgrade from platform-level solutions to a foundational network-level deployment. The two companies also co-developed a JPY-pegged stablecoin for global settlement and institutional use cases.

Startale founder Sota Watanabe said that the financial system is accelerating its migration onto the chain, with tokenized stocks becoming a key breakthrough. Strium is positioned as “the foundational trading layer of Asia’s on-chain securities market,” leveraging SBI’s approximately 80 million customer base and its compliance experience in banking and securities to connect traditional finance with decentralized infrastructure.

It is reported that the Strium testnet is expected to go live soon, with its proof of concept demonstrating settlement efficiency, system resilience, and interoperability with traditional financial systems and blockchain networks under high concurrency and demanding scenarios. Meanwhile, SBI is also accelerating its crypto initiatives, covering stablecoins, ETFs, and tokenized assets, further advancing Japan’s strategic position in the global on-chain securities race.