European financial institutions are moving further into stablecoins, tokenization, and blockchain-based payment infrastructure as the region considers how money could move across increasingly digital financial systems.
That shift will form a major part of the agenda at MERGE Madrid 2026, which will take place from October 27 to 29 in Madrid.
According to MERGE, the event will bring together banks, regulators, payment networks, technology companies, and digital-asset firms to discuss the infrastructure behind the next generation of financial services.
The organizer expects more than 3,000 attendees and over 250 international speakers, with activities taking place across the Madrid Stock Exchange and Palacio de Cibeles.
Qivalis Puts the Euro Stablecoin Race in Focus
One of the initiatives expected to feature prominently during the event is Qivalis, a consortium involving 37 European financial institutions working toward a euro-denominated stablecoin designed to operate within the European Union's MiCA regulatory framework.
The initiative reflects a broader push by European institutions to develop digital-payment infrastructure tied directly to the euro.
According to information provided by MERGE, Qivalis is being developed as infrastructure for instant payments and settlement available around the clock.
Several institutions associated with the initiative are expected to participate in MERGE Madrid 2026, including BBVA, Cecabank, BNP Paribas, Banca Sella, Raiffeisen Bank, and Piraeus Bank.
The wider speaker and participant lineup is also expected to include institutions and infrastructure companies such as Santander, Visa, Mastercard, Ripple, Circle, Stripe, Unicaja, Kutxabank, Eurobank, Renta 4, and Rain.
Why Euro-Denominated Stablecoins Matter
Stablecoins have become an increasingly important part of the global digital-asset market because they combine blockchain-based settlement with assets designed to track traditional currencies.
Most of today's stablecoin economy remains heavily connected to the U.S. dollar.
European institutions are therefore exploring how regulated euro-denominated alternatives could support regional payment systems, settlement, and digital financial infrastructure.
For banks, this is increasingly not just a cryptocurrency discussion.
Stablecoins can potentially interact with:
cross-border payments
institutional settlement
tokenized assets
programmable payments
treasury operations
digital commerce
machine-to-machine payments
blockchain-based financial markets
This makes the competition around stablecoin infrastructure increasingly relevant to both traditional banks and digital-asset companies.
MiCA Changes the Conversation
Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, or MiCA, is also reshaping how institutions approach digital assets.
Instead of stablecoins operating primarily outside established banking systems, European institutions are increasingly examining how regulated digital-money products can fit within existing financial structures.
For initiatives such as Qivalis, regulation is therefore part of the infrastructure rather than simply a compliance requirement added later.
MERGE Madrid is positioning this discussion within a broader question facing the financial industry:
Who will build the infrastructure that moves money in an increasingly tokenized and programmable economy?
Tokenization Expands Beyond Crypto Markets
Stablecoins are only one part of that transition.
Tokenization — representing financial or real-world assets digitally on blockchain infrastructure — is also becoming increasingly relevant to banks, asset managers, payment companies, and regulators.
At MERGE Madrid 2026, discussions are expected to cover:
stablecoins
asset tokenization
digital assets
financial regulation
artificial intelligence in financial services
new payment infrastructure
The convergence of these areas is creating a financial system where traditional institutions and blockchain infrastructure increasingly overlap.
Rather than operating as two completely separate markets, traditional finance and digital assets are beginning to share the same conversations around settlement, payments, custody, liquidity, compliance, and infrastructure.
Madrid Becomes a Meeting Point for Traditional Finance and Digital Assets
MERGE Madrid has increasingly positioned itself around the intersection between traditional financial institutions and the emerging digital economy.
Its 2026 edition will bring this convergence into focus by placing banks, payment networks, regulators, and digital-asset companies within the same event.
For European institutions, the discussion comes at a significant moment.
Stablecoins are expanding globally.
Tokenized assets are moving into institutional markets.
Regulators are establishing clearer frameworks.
Banks are experimenting with blockchain-based settlement.
And payment companies are increasingly exploring infrastructure that can operate across both traditional and digital financial systems.
The question is therefore moving beyond whether digital assets will become part of financial infrastructure.
The more immediate question is which institutions and networks will build, regulate, and operate that infrastructure.
MERGE Institutional Summit Opens at the Madrid Stock Exchange
The event will begin on October 27 with the MERGE Institutional Summit at the Madrid Stock Exchange.
MERGE describes the summit as an invitation-only gathering designed for financial institutions, regulators, payment networks, and major corporations.
The program is expected to focus on the strategic evolution of money, digital assets, payments, and financial infrastructure across Europe and Latin America.
The smaller institutional format is intended to bring together senior decision-makers working across banking, regulation, technology, and payment infrastructure before the wider MERGE Madrid program continues.
What to Watch
The most important development may not be any single stablecoin announcement.
Instead, MERGE Madrid 2026 reflects a larger structural shift taking place across finance.
Banks are no longer watching digital assets entirely from the sidelines.
Payment networks are experimenting with new settlement models.
Regulators are creating frameworks for tokenized financial systems.
And stablecoins are increasingly becoming infrastructure rather than simply trading instruments.
How projects such as Qivalis develop — and how banks, regulators, payment companies, and blockchain networks choose to participate — could help determine how euro-denominated digital money evolves over the coming years.
About MERGE Madrid
MERGE Madrid is an international event focused on the convergence of traditional finance, digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, regulation, tokenization, and emerging financial technologies.
The 2026 edition will take place in Madrid from October 27 to 29, including programming at the Madrid Stock Exchange and Palacio de Cibeles.