Startale Group announced on Wednesday that SBI Group has invested $50 million to complete the company’s Series A funding round. The Japanese blockchain firm is developing infrastructure for tokenized securities, stablecoins and consumer-facing onchain products. The investment brings Startale’s total Series A to $63 million, following a $13 million first close led by Sony Innovation Fund in January.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the capital will be used to scale several core products. These include the Strium blockchain, which is designed for tokenized securities, as well as Japanese yen and US dollar stablecoins. Startale also plans to develop a consumer-facing application that connects users to onchain services.
Startale Group CEO Sota Watanabe said the partnership would drive meaningful progress this year. “Through the deep collaboration with SBI, we will accelerate the adoption of tokenized stocks, centered on Japanese equities and JPY stablecoin, this year,” Watanabe stated. The deal is expected to strengthen institutional support for Startale’s broader push into onchain financial infrastructure in Japan.
The newly raised funds will support what Startale describes as a vertically integrated strategy, covering blockchain infrastructure, financial products and consumer applications. The company plans to scale the Strium network for tokenized securities and real-world asset trading. It also intends to expand adoption of its JPYSC and USDSC stablecoins and build out its SuperApp, which aims to integrate payments, asset management and onchain services into a single platform.
Strium was launched on February 5 by Startale Group and SBI Holdings as a layer-1 blockchain built to support settlement infrastructure for institutional trading of foreign exchange, tokenized equities and real-world assets. The network represents a key component of the two companies’ shared vision for regulated digital asset markets in Japan. Its development reflects growing institutional interest in blockchain-based financial settlement in the region.
The investment follows a series of prior collaborations between the two firms. On August 22, 2025, SBI Holdings formed partnerships with Startale, Circle and Ripple to launch stablecoin ventures and a tokenized asset trading platform in Japan. These agreements laid the groundwork for the deeper financial commitment now formalized through the Series A completion.
In December, SBI and Startale signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a fully regulated JPY stablecoin targeting tokenized asset markets and global settlement. Under the agreement, the stablecoin will be issued and redeemed by Shinsei Trust & Banking, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Shinsei Bank. The MoU underscores the regulatory focus both companies are bringing to their stablecoin ambitions in Japan.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
