2026: The Year of Vertical Integration

A strategic perspective from Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group

2026 will sharpen industry outcomes as organizations with clarity and execution will build durable advantages while others will face serious competitive pressure and risk falling behind.

As we detailed in our Q4 2025 Crypto Round Up, the industry is shifting from speculation to execution, with stablecoins becoming real financial rails and infrastructure supporting genuine usage.

Industry-leading companies are moving beyond single-product strategies and building vertically integrated product suites. Coinbase is no longer just a crypto exchange: they've built an integrated ecosystem that includes the Base chain, a DEX on Base, and even USDC yield products. Circle has expanded beyond USDC into building the Arc chain. Stripe is following a similar path with their stablecoin, L1 chain (Tempo), and wallet integration through Privy.

This vertical integration strategy is becoming the industry standard among leading players. Companies with vertically integrated offerings will increasingly capture market share from single-product competitors.

The core advantage of vertical integration is the flexibility to shift monetization points. Whether through trading fees, chain fees, stablecoin yields, or app charges, companies can optimize revenue streams based on market conditions. This approach was outlined in Sota’s vision for Startale’s Master plan sometime in 2023.

SuperApps: The Gateway to Onchain Economies

At the center of this vertical integration strategy is the wallet layer, which we refer to as the SuperApp.

A SuperApp goes far beyond managing securities and digital assets. Looking ahead, these platforms will integrate chat, payments, credit cards, and more, functioning as the gateway to onchain economies.

This trend is expected to continue accelerating throughout the year. One key driver is the effective consolidation of general-purpose chain competition. The chains that emerged to solve Ethereum's speed and cost issues are now facing new competitive dynamics due to Ethereum's own technical evolution. By the end of this year, only Ethereum and Solana are likely to maintain a significant presence as general-purpose chains, with standout Layer 2s like Soneium emerging as the hub for onchain creators. Soneium aims to create a seamless bridge between infrastructure and culture, empowering developers, artists and fan communities to thrive within a fully integrated ecosystem. It is a platform for the next generation of onchain creativity, where SuperApps, tokenized assets, and user-facing interfaces come together to unlock new opportunities for participation, collaboration, monetization, and engagement.

Meanwhile, the next wave of innovation will also come from chains built by companies with powerful existing distribution channels: Base, Arc, the Robinhood chain, and Stripe's Tempo are clear examples.

Startale's Path Forward

The Startale App will evolve into a true SuperApp across two key platforms: Soneium and a platform designed for Real World Asset (RWA) trading, co-developed with SBI Holdings, which will be announced soon.

Beyond standard wallet functionality, we're building toward these capabilities in the Startale App:

  1. The SuperApp will serve as the all-in-one gateway to the Soneium ecosystem and more, uniting your wallet, assets, and blockchain-native applications into one intuitive experience
  2. Mini App discovery and use: Similar to an iOS app store, where users can search and interact with applications
  3. Asset tokenization: Enabling the tokenization of any type of asset
  4. First dips to the next airdrops and Token Generation Events (TGE) within Soneium
  5. Onchain distribution: Allowing dividends and distributions from tokenized assets to flow onchain as stablecoins

To further support this vision, we launched a USD stablecoin (Startale USDSC) in 2025 and are scaling it progressively. We're also moving forward with a JPY stablecoin through our partnership with SBI Holdings, as announced on December 16. These stablecoins are more than payment instruments. They form the backbone of a fully integrated ecosystem and enable real-time onchain transactions across Soneium and the broader SuperApp. By providing reliable and programmable digital currency rails, the USD and JPY stablecoins facilitate seamless transactions, advancing Startale’s mission to bring the world onchain.

Building the Winning Strategy Onchain

As 2026 unfolds, the distinction between industry leaders and the rest will become clearer than ever, with those executing thoughtfully and building integrated ecosystems poised to define the next phase of the industry. Startale is committed to leading this transformation by providing the infrastructure, tools, and platforms that enable creators, developers, and communities to thrive onchain. By connecting wallets, assets, social networks and applications into unified experiences alongside our stablecoin infrastructure and SuperApp strategy, we are bringing vision to life.

Original note from Sota Watanabe: https://note.com/sota_watanabe/n/n4e4487a59946