Stelrix, the fintech company building real-time secured lending infrastructure for modern investors, today announces the launch of the first real-time secured credit card backed by investments, allowing everyday investors to access liquidity from their portfolios without selling assets or taking on traditional margin risk.
U.S. credit card debt has reached an all-time high of $1.2 trillion, shackling millions of Americans in high-interest cycles and eroding credit scores, yet Stelrix is rewriting the rules. Founded by 21-year-old Colin Sahagun, this isn’t just the first investment-backed credit card; it’s a movement that puts financial power back in the hands of everyday Americans.
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Stelrix removes the traditional barriers to portfolio-backed lending, which typically require minimums of $100,000 or more and lengthy approval processes. The platform continuously monitors users’ brokerage holdings and adjusts credit limits in real time based on portfolio value and risk, updating every few milliseconds.
“People think the wealthy are different because they have more money,” said Colin Sahagun, CEO and Founder of Stelrix. “The truth is, they just have access to better systems or more exposure. At 17, I watched a family office and brokerage clients borrowing against their portfolios routinely, but 70% of those everyday investors are unaware that tools like these exist. We built Stelrix to give everyone that same access: safe, transparent and instant.”
Stelrix has already assembled a network of established partners and supporters spanning regulatory, issuing, and payments infrastructure, including HSBC, Lithic, Manatt, Sightspan, CompoSecure and IC Payments.
“Stelrix is redefining the intersection of investing and everyday finance, merging the two to deliver a new level of financial empowerment for retail investors,” Safi Keshvargar, Investor Coverage and Strategic Partnerships at HSBC, shared. “Their innovative approach represents a new generation of fintechs helping people access smarter, more flexible financial tools, and marks an important evolution in how individuals engage with their wealth.”
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The beta program is slated for Q1 2026, with full commercial rollout in early Q2. Users will initially connect U.S. equities portfolios, with plans to expand to additional asset classes, including crypto, real estate and collectibles.
“Stelrix exemplifies the kind of forward-thinking fintech we’re proud to back,” said Tony McGee, Director of Business Development at Lithic. “They’re not retooling old systems–they’re building new infrastructure that connects capital markets and consumer payments in ways that simply weren’t possible before.”
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Stelrix has completed a fully funded angel round and is now preparing its seed raise to scale the platform.
“True innovation balances opportunity with safeguards, and Stelrix has struck that balance brilliantly. By pairing cutting-edge investment-backed credit technology with a robust compliance and risk foundation, they’re making advanced financial tools accessible in a safe, transparent, and scalable way,” said Andrea Corbine, President of SightSpan. “Sightspan is honored to support their mission and help ensure the platform is built for long-term trust. Colin and the Stelrix team are reimagining what’s possible in consumer finance, and they’re doing it the right way.”
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Source : businesswire