MERGE Madrid 2026: Institutional Crypto Settles in Madrid

As other conferences make promises, MERGE Madrid establishes itself where institutional money is truly decided: inside the historic building of the Madrid Stock Exchange, then within one of the most iconic buildings in the Spanish capital. From October 27 to 29, 2026, the event presents itself as the reference point for institutional crypto in Southern Europe and Latin America, a deliberate bridge between traditional finance and digital assets.

Key Points

• MERGE Madrid: from October 27 to 29, 2026, split between the Bolsa de Madrid (institutional summit) and the Palacio de Cibeles (main congress).
• The organizer projects several thousand participants (up to 5,000), over 200 speakers, and more than 40 exhibitors from over 40 countries.
• A deliberately institutional positioning: banks, regulators, fintechs, and the crypto ecosystem under one roof, designed to connect Europe and Latin America.
• Sessions in English and Spanish with live translation; the program focuses on tokenization, stablecoins, RWA, DeFi, and regulation.
• Code MERGECOINTRIBUNE20: -20% on your ticket, applied via the partner link.

The Event Bridging Traditional Finance and Crypto

MERGE does not hide its ambition: to bring together in the same room the actors who manage finance and those who manage crypto. While many events in the sector highlight protocols and tokens, MERGE places institutions at the core, seeking to show how banks, brokers, asset managers, and regulators are actually integrating digital assets. The format is designed for this: a closed-door institutional summit, a two-day congress, a 7,000 square meter exhibition area, individual meetings, and a startup competition.

Its dual geographical footprint is what sets it apart. With one edition in Madrid in October and another in Argentina in the spring, MERGE positions itself as the gateway for international projects to two markets that are still very much under construction, Southern Europe and Latin America, which are too often treated separately. For a crypto project looking to address institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, it is a logical passage point.
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Two Venues That Speak Volumes About Positioning

The choice of venues is not a coincidence. On October 27, the institutional summit takes place at the Bolsa de Madrid, the neoclassical palace inaugurated in 1893 that houses one of the oldest financial institutions in Spain. Reserved for the 400 most exclusive participants, holders of a Business Pass and speakers, it offers a full day of discussions on regulation, finance, and digital assets, concluded with a VIP cocktail.

On October 28 and 29, the main congress occupies the Palacio de Cibeles, one of the most recognizable monuments in Madrid, right in the heart of the city. This is where thousands of participants, of all ticket types, gather around three stages. Organizing a crypto event inside the stock exchange palace and then at the Madrid city hall speaks volumes about the message: crypto is no longer knocking at the door of institutions; it is entering.

Who You Will Meet

The list mixes, as promised, two worlds. Among the already confirmed speakers for this edition, whose list is growing each week, are Coty de Monteverde (Global Head Crypto & Digital Assets, Banco Santander), Francisco Maroto (Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, BBVA), Massimo Cervesato (VP Global Blockchain & Digital Assets, Mastercard), Cassie Craddock (VP, Managing Director UK & Europe, Ripple), Robby Yung (CEO of Investments, Animoca Brands), and Stijn Vander Straeten (CEO, Crypto Finance Group & Deutsche Börse). On the sponsor side, Ripple and Crypto Finance are the Platinum sponsors, alongside the Bolsa de Madrid itself, Tether, BitGo, Bullish, Bit2Me, Cecabank, and the BSV Association as Gold sponsors.

In total, the organizer announces more than 200 speakers spread across three stages, a startup competition with finalists selected before the event, and networking formats designed to create connections, including one-on-one meetings with speakers and sponsors. This is precisely the type of counterpart --- institutional players and infrastructure providers --- that a founder or executive seeks to meet.

A Program Built Around the Real Issues of 2026

The content follows the real news cycle of the sector rather than its trends. The themes cover digital currency, payments and stablecoins (including CBDCs and cross-border payments), the role of banks and brokers in institutional crypto, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and regulation. All themes that speak directly to European readers at a time when MiCA is redefining the structure of the digital asset market. The bilingual English-Spanish sessions, with live translation, extend the audience well beyond the Spanish-speaking sphere.

Tickets and Discount Code

Several types of tickets are available. The Standard ticket grants access to both days of the congress at the Palacio de Cibeles, the exhibition area, the networking app, and session recordings. The Business Pass adds access to the institutional summit at the Bolsa de Madrid and its VIP cocktail dinner, subject to availability. Prices increase as the event approaches, and the code MERGECOINTRIBUNE20 applies a -20% discount on your ticket, directly via the partner link.