Startale
The Astar founder's bet that Japan Inc. does onchain banking: a Visa card where Soneium assets keep compounding until the second they're spent, cashback in its own USDSC dollar — and JPYSC, Japan's first trust-bank yen stablecoin, in the same stack.
Sony/SBI-backed: self-custodial Visa spends Soneium L2 assets at 150M+ merchants; unveiled at WebX Tokyo 2026.
The facts
| Category | web3-native |
| HQ | Singapore, SG |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Custody | Self-custodial |
| Regulation type | Self-custodial software |
| Licence detail | Self-custodial; co-develops Soneium with Sony Block Solutions Labs (Sony Group JV) |
| Card | Visa · Virtual + physical (waitlist) |
| Cashback | Cashback in USDSC |
| Yield | Assets keep earning until spent (vaults) |
| Stablecoins | Yes |
| KYC | Card only |
| Active regions | Asia |
| Countries | Global |
| Founders | Sota Watanabe |
| Funding | $63M Series A (Mar 2026): $50M SBI Group + $13M Sony Innovation Fund; $7M seed (Sony, Samsung Next, UOB VM) |
Verified links: official site ↗ · terms ↗ · @StartaleHQ ↗
Early investors
comparePut Startale side by side with any of the other 373 tracked neobanks in the directory — custody, licence, cashback, yield, stablecoins and geography in one view.
Peers
Phantom · MiniPay · MetaMask · Solflare · Rainbow · Xverse
Figures compiled from public sources, for comparison only — not financial advice. "Up to" rates change constantly; always confirm with the issuer. Spotted an error? Suggest a fix.