Madrid, September 2026.– Stablecoins have evolved beyond a niche tool of the crypto sector to become a core strategic focus for banks, fintechs, and international payment providers. At MERGE Madrid 2026, industry leaders such as Santander, BBVA, Trade Republic, and Western Union will convene to explore how this emerging financial framework will reshape investments, cross-border transfers, payments, and asset settlement.
Set for October 27 through 29, the upcoming edition of MERGE Madrid positions the Spanish capital at the heart of discussions surrounding the future of currency. The conference will merge four distinct viewpoints: cooperative efforts among global financial institutions, the development of a European stablecoin aligned with MiCA regulations, the integration of digital assets via a European investment platform, and the incorporation of a digital dollar into a premier worldwide remittance network.
Four approaches that anticipate the future of digital money
Representatives from BBVA, Banca Sella, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Cecabank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Kutxabank, Piraeus Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, and Bankinter will detail their involvement in Qivalis, a collective initiative uniting 37 financial institutions across 15 European countries to advance a euro-pegged stablecoin. The enterprise seeks to deliver 24/7 lower-cost, high-speed payments alongside streamlined digital asset settlement within a compliant framework. Pending regulatory approval, its commercial rollout is targeted for the latter half of 2026.
Santander will outline its collaborative exploration alongside Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG, TD Bank, and UBS. This initiative focuses on issuing reserve-backed, one-to-one digital money operable on public blockchains. By examining currencies tied to G7 economies, the project highlights traditional banking’s drive to establish universal, secure, and regulated standards for digital funds.
Representing a major European investment and savings platform, Trade Republic will share insights on embedding digital assets into daily financial products. Their session will evaluate retail investor demand, the provision of compliant and user-friendly crypto access, and the function of digital platforms in driving the uptake of fresh European financial architectures.
Western Union is set to showcase USDPT—its dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and powered by Solana. By embedding this asset within its Digital Asset Network, the firm links digital currency to practical applications, enabling around-the-clock transfers, payments, and local currency conversions via its global footprint. This effort demonstrates how stablecoins can enhance existing cash and remittance networks rather than operating in isolation.
“For the first time, banks, fintechs, and major payment companies aren’t coming to debate whether stablecoins will have a role in the financial system, but instead to explain how they are building and integrating them and what specific problems they want to solve with them. MERGE Madrid will be the place where we can compare these models and understand what form digital money will take in Europe and Latin America,” explains Paula Pascual, founder of MERGE.
Why does everyone want to launch a stablecoin now?
This surge in interest arrives at a critical juncture. While the MiCA framework has established clear European guidelines for issuing and marketing crypto-assets, the proliferation of dollar-backed stablecoins has ignited discussions regarding monetary sovereignty and Europe’s capacity to build independent payment systems.
For financial institutions, these currencies enable near-instantaneous global transfers, programmable functionality, continuous operations, and the settlement of tokenized assets independently of traditional banking hours. For remittance and payment operators, stablecoins provide a means to eliminate intermediaries, directly connecting digital funds with merchants, bank accounts, and cash pickup locations.
Discussions at MERGE Madrid will extend past mere technology, delving into key questions about optimal issuers, reserve security, user protections, coexistence with standard bank deposits and the forthcoming digital euro, and which operational models hold the highest potential for widespread adoption.
Madrid brings together the banking sector building the new digital money
The agenda brings together authorities across banking, payments, investment, regulation, blockchain infrastructure, and digital assets. Confirmed participants include Coty de Monteverde, Global Head of Crypto & Digital Assets at Banco Santander; Francisco Maroto, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at BBVA; alongside delegates from Trade Republic, Western Union, Qivalis, Mastercard, Ripple, and additional entities shaping next-generation financial systems.
Events kick off on October 27 with an Institutional Summit at the Bolsa de Madrid tailored for financial institutions, regulators, investors, and sector leaders. The main conference follows on October 28 and 29 at the Palacio de Cibeles, drawing upwards of 3,000 participants and 250 global speakers hailing from Europe and Latin America.
Beyond stablecoins and digital transactions, discussions will encompass tokenization, custody, regulation, capital markets, Bitcoin, artificial intelligence in finance, and new blockchain frameworks. Through this comprehensive agenda, MERGE solidifies its role as a bridge connecting legacy banking with the broader digital asset economy across the Atlantic.
About MERGE
MERGE serves as the premier institutional hub for digital assets, Web3, and blockchain connecting Latin America and Europe. Through gatherings in Madrid and São Paulo, it unites financial institutions, corporations, regulators, investors, startups, fintechs, and native digital enterprises to cultivate partnerships and advance innovative business models.
More information, agenda, and tickets: HERE