SBI Holdings and Startale form joint venture to develop tokenized stock trading platform

SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial giant, has joined the tokenized stock market through a joint venture with Singapore-based blockchain development firm Startale. The on-chain platform will facilitate trading of tokenized equities and real-world assets, with features including fractional ownership, institutional-grade custody, and real-time compliance monitoring. SBI sees asset tokenization as a major shift in global markets, predicting the digitalization of capital markets themselves.

SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial giant, has recently entered the tokenized stock market through a joint venture with Singapore-based blockchain development firm Startale. The on-chain platform, developed by the two companies, will facilitate the trading of tokenized equities and real-world assets (RWAs) with features such as fractional ownership, institutional-grade custody, and real-time compliance monitoring [2].

The joint venture aims to provide around-the-clock global trading and settlement of tokenized assets, following the trend set by other major players like Robinhood and Kraken, which have expanded their tokenized stock offerings [2]. SBI Holdings, which oversees over 11 trillion yen ($74 billion) in assets and has over 65 million customers globally, sees asset tokenization as a significant shift in global markets. According to Yoshitaka Kitao, president and CEO of SBI Holdings, "We predict that this movement will eventually lead to the digitalization of capital markets themselves, including exchanges" [2].

The new platform is expected to support 24/7 trading of tokenized U.S. and Japanese stocks with near-instant settlement. It will be highly interoperable, always open, accessible to anyone, and designed to meet the needs of users worldwide in the global market [2]. Startale previously developed Soneium, an Ethereum layer-2 network, with Japanese tech giant Sony, indicating their expertise in blockchain technology [2].

This move by SBI Holdings follows the rapid adoption of tokenized U.S. equities on Solana, as seen with xStocks, which reached $2.1 billion in cumulative trading volume within just six weeks of their launch [1]. xStocks, SPL tokens representing fractional ownership of real U.S. stocks and ETFs, are tradable globally 24/7 via centralized exchanges and on-chain venues with full self-custody and DeFi integration [1].

SBI Holdings' entry into the tokenized stock market is a significant development, indicating a growing trend towards digitalizing capital markets. The platform's features, including fractional ownership and institutional-grade custody, align with the increasing demand for accessible and efficient trading of real-world assets.

References:
[1] https://crypto.news/xstocks-on-solana-hit-2b-volume-in-6-weeks-scaling-60-tokenized-u-s-equities-case-study/
[2] https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/08/21/japan-s-sbi-holdings-joins-tokenized-stock-push-with-startale-joint-venture