Startale Group and Japan's SBI Holdings have officially launched Strium, a purpose-built layer-1 blockchain designed to serve as exchange-layer and settlement infrastructure for institutional trading. The platform targets foreign exchange (FX), tokenized equities, and real-world assets (RWAs), aiming to bridge traditional finance with on-chain ecosystems.
The launch follows the strategic partnership announced by the two companies in August 2025. Strium will initially facilitate trading of synthetic versions of U.S. and Japanese stocks and commodities, which are derivative-style instruments. The roadmap includes a subsequent expansion to tokenized representations of real shares and asset-backed tokens, accessible after users complete identity checks and comply with local regulations.
"Tokenization is an inevitable trend, and equities tokenization is clearly the next big market," said Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group. He emphasized that Strium aims to enable compliant dividend and royalty payments. The venture leverages SBI's regulated financial infrastructure, including its involvement in a planned yen stablecoin structure with Shinsei Trust & Banking and SBI VC Trade.
The project is currently in a proof-of-concept phase, testing settlement efficiency, resilience under heavy load, and interoperability with legacy financial systems and other blockchains. A public testnet is planned as the next step toward commercial deployment. Watanabe noted that discussions with regulators, including in Japan, will follow as the project expands into individual markets.
This development aligns with a broader industry trend. Last month, the New York Stock Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange revealed plans for a 24/7 trading platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs using blockchain. A recent Sygnum report indicated that tokenization is expected to go mainstream in 2026.
