On February 4, 2026, SBI Holdings, Japan’s financial powerhouse, partnered with Startale Group, the team behind Sony’s Soneium Layer 2, to launch Strium Network, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for tokenized securities, per The Block. Strium aims to serve as the “foundational exchange layer for Asia’s onchain securities markets,” enabling 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and DeFi composability for real-world equities, per. This builds on their August 2025 collaboration for a yen-denominated stablecoin and RWA trading platform.
Strium is designed for institutional-grade tokenized stocks, offering near-instant cross-border settlement and interoperability with traditional finance systems, per. A testnet is expected soon, with today’s proof-of-concept demonstrating settlement efficiency and high-load resilience. Leveraging SBI’s 80 million customers and Startale’s expertise from Astar Network (Japan’s largest public chain), Strium targets global capital markets, per. Sota Watanabe, Startale founder, emphasized creating “new financial primitives” merging traditional equities with DeFi.
The announcement aligns with the RWA surge, with $20B+ in tokenized assets globally, led by BlackRock’s BUIDL ($3B+ TVL), per DefiLlama. Kraken, Robinhood, and the NYSE are developing onchain stocks, while Hong Kong and Singapore advance RWA frameworks, per. Strium positions Asia to lead, potentially challenging U.S. dollar-backed platforms, per. However, regulatory hurdles like SEC scrutiny on securities classification remain,Coinlaw.io. BNB ($880) and SOL ($184.50) show market stability, according to CoinMarketCap.
Strium could capture 10% of Asia’s $50T equities market by 2030 if adoption scales, per CoinShares. Investors should monitor testnet launches and yen stablecoin progress via SBI announcements. Track RWA TVL on DefiLlama and BTC support at $112,000, per TradingView. Diversify into USDC or ETH ($4,070) to hedge risks, per. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. Strium’s success hinges on regulatory clarity and merchant adoption, but it signals Asia’s rising blockchain influence in 2026.
