As the crypto market steadily moves toward greater compliance and mainstream adoption, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) has emerged as a critical bridge connecting traditional finance with Web3.
Recently, Startale Group—backed by Sony and SBI Group—announced the completion of a $63 million funding round and deepened its collaboration with leading RWA protocol Ondo Finance to expand its tokenized securities business. This development is more than just a powerful alliance of capital; it also highlights a structural shift in Asia’s on-chain financial infrastructure and asset issuance landscape.
Why Are Traditional Financial Giants Rushing Into Tokenized Securities Now?
In the first quarter of 2026, the RWA sector is showing clear signs of "accelerated growth in Asia." Traditional financial institutions are no longer limiting themselves to strategic investments or simply observing from the sidelines—they are now actively participating in infrastructure development and integrating on-chain finance into their core business strategies.
Startale Group, co-incubated by Sony and SBI, has become a key Web3 infrastructure player. Its recent $63 million funding round reflects traditional capital’s growing confidence in the emergence of a "compliant on-chain financial market." Sony’s extensive reach across consumer electronics, entertainment, and finance, combined with SBI’s deep expertise in crypto assets and digital securities, forms the foundation of this new wave of institutional RWA deployment.
How Does the Combination of Capital and Technology Drive On-Chain Finance Adoption?
Startale Group’s value lies not just in its fundraising, but in the foundational infrastructure it’s building—especially the blockchain network co-developed with Sony, which offers a scalable and regulatory-compliant environment for tokenized assets under Japanese financial oversight. Ondo Finance, specializing in tokenized US Treasuries and securities, brings robust product architecture and liquidity management to the table.
Their partnership effectively creates a closed loop of "compliant public blockchain + asset issuance protocol + institutional distribution." In this model, issuers can leverage Startale’s on-chain compliance layer to meet KYC and AML requirements, use Ondo’s smart contracts for asset fractionalization and trading, and ultimately reach traditional investors through established channels of Sony, SBI, and Mizuho.
What Are the Trade-Offs and Costs of This Compliance-Driven Model?
Any process that brings traditional financial assets on-chain must balance efficiency with decentralization. In the Startale and Ondo framework, compliance takes precedence. This means participant identity verification, whitelisting for asset transfers, and even upgradability and permission management of smart contracts all closely resemble traditional securities custody systems, rather than fully decentralized DeFi models. While this structure reduces regulatory risk and increases institutional participation, it does sacrifice some openness and permissionless features of on-chain finance. For the industry, this isn’t a matter of better or worse, but rather a strategic choice at different stages of development. In Asia—especially Japan—compliance-first is a necessary condition for institutional-scale RWA adoption.
How Will This Collaboration Reshape the Asian RWA Landscape?
From a regional competition perspective, Asia’s RWA market has long been defined by the "dual-city rivalry" between Singapore and Hong Kong, with Japan taking a more subdued role. Startale’s latest funding and its deep partnership with Ondo mark a turning point, as Japan leverages its domestic conglomerates and major enterprises to build a comprehensive on-chain financial ecosystem. The investors include not only Sony and SBI, but also traditional banking giants like Mizuho Financial Group. This gives the ecosystem clear advantages on both the asset side (corporate bonds, accounts receivable) and the capital side (institutional investors, retail banking clients). In contrast, other Asian financial centers remain caught between "native crypto innovation" and "traditional finance integration," giving Japan a valuable window of opportunity in the current RWA race.
What Evolutionary Paths Might We See Going Forward?
Based on current trends, the development of tokenized securities may follow three main trajectories:
- The first path, exemplified by Startale, is a "closed, compliant ecosystem" where asset issuance, transfer, and settlement all occur within permissioned or regulatory-compliant sidechains—best suited for large institutions and the corporate bond market.
- The second path is "cross-chain interoperable RWA," where tokenized assets are bridged into mainstream DeFi protocols to enhance efficiency and liquidity. This requires advanced technology and regulatory coordination.
- The third path is a "hybrid model," where underlying assets are registered on a compliant chain, while trading and lending functions interact privately with mainstream DeFi using technologies like zero-knowledge proofs. Judging by the current Startale-Ondo partnership, the first path is clearly the focus, but as technology and regulations evolve, a shift toward the third path is increasingly likely.
What Are the Potential Risks and Limitations Amid the Institutional RWA Boom?
Despite the enormous potential brought by capital and industry giants, there are still significant risks to consider:
- First is regulatory risk. While Japan has established a relatively robust digital asset regulatory framework, tokenized securities involving cross-border capital flows still face compliance challenges across different jurisdictions.
- Second is technical risk. On-chain assets are vulnerable to losses from smart contract bugs or private key mismanagement—risks that differ from those in traditional financial systems.
- Third is liquidity risk. Although tokenized securities are divisible and programmable, their secondary market depth still depends on institutional market makers and ecosystem participation, making it difficult to match traditional bond markets in the short term.
- Finally, over-reliance on a single ecosystem or infrastructure could create new centralization risks in the future, which runs counter to the foundational spirit of Web3.
Conclusion
Startale Group’s $63 million funding round—led by traditional powerhouses Sony, SBI, and Mizuho—and its partnership with Ondo Finance in tokenized securities mark a new era for Asia’s RWA market: a move toward "compliant closed loops" and "industry capital-driven" development. This collaboration not only validates the feasibility of on-chain finance at the institutional level but also secures Japan’s strategic position in the Asian RWA competition. Looking ahead, as more traditional assets migrate on-chain, tokenized securities will continue to seek a balance among efficiency, compliance, and openness. The experience gained throughout this process will ultimately determine whether Web3 can truly unlock the trillion-dollar traditional finance market.
FAQ
What is the specific collaboration model between Startale Group, Sony, and SBI?
Startale Group serves as the core infrastructure provider for Sony and SBI’s Web3 initiatives, offering compliant blockchain networks and developer tools. Sony contributes technical and industry resources, SBI brings financial and crypto expertise, and together they are driving the adoption of on-chain finance in Japan and across Asia.What role does Ondo Finance play in this partnership?
Ondo Finance acts as the RWA asset issuance and protocol layer provider, integrating its modular products for tokenized securities and US Treasuries with Startale’s infrastructure. This enables issuers to quickly build compliant tokenized assets and access liquidity.What does the $63 million funding mean for the RWA sector?
This funding round is notable in the Asian RWA infrastructure space, signaling strong confidence from traditional industrial and financial capital in the on-chain finance sector. More importantly, it demonstrates that the "conglomerate + financial institution + compliant public chain" model is now replicable in Asia.What are the fundamental differences between tokenized securities and traditional securities trading?
Tokenized securities automate ownership registration, clearing, and settlement processes via smart contracts, potentially shortening settlement cycles (from T+2 to T+0), reducing intermediary costs, and enabling programmable features like dividends and voting. However, their compliance and liquidity are still constrained by jurisdictional regulations and ecosystem maturity.How can ordinary investors participate in this trend?
Currently, institutional-grade RWA tokenized securities are mainly available to qualified investors or institutions. For retail users, platforms like Gate offer opportunities to track RWA-related tokens and protocol developments. However, it’s important to distinguish between "protocol tokens" and "underlying asset tokens," as they carry different risk profiles.
