Summarize this article with:
MERGE Madrid opens on Tuesday, October 27, at the Madrid Stock Exchange. The official list of MERGE Madrid side events already counts 20 gatherings between October 26 and 29. Also, 14 of them fall on October 28 alone. Cointribune, a media partner of the event, read that list line by line and checked it against the official agenda. So this article sorts what you can join by request from what stays invite only.
The MERGE Madrid x Cointribune partner discount gives 20% off with the code MERGECOINTRIBUNE20, organizer’s terms apply. Book your MERGE Madrid ticket through the partner link.
En bref
- October 27 to 29: MERGE Madrid starts at the Madrid Stock Exchange, then moves to the Palacio de Cibeles.
- 20 side events: The list of MERGE Madrid side events counts 20 gatherings, and 14 fall on October 28.
- 10 events by request: Ten side events let you ask for a place, while six stay invite only.
- 15 new sponsors: MERGE announced two Silver and 13 Bronze sponsors between October 14 and 19.
- €149 to €2,999: Five ticket types sit in that range, and readers get 20% off through the partner link.
What Changed on the MERGE Madrid Agenda This Week?
The October 27 institutional summit now has five named sessions on the official agenda, checked on October 19, 2026. When Cointribune looked on October 6, the last slot still showed “Session TBC”. Also, our practical guide to MERGE Madrid tickets and the promo code covers the buying side.
| Time | Session | Speakers |
| 3:30 p.m. | Beyond SWIFT: Blockchain as the New Financial Corridor | Coty de Monteverde (Banco Santander), Guillermo Barco (SwissQuote), Luis Ayala (BitGo) |
| 4:00 p.m. | From Curiosity to Client Demand: How Financial Institutions Are Responding to Growing Interest in Digital Assets | Stijn Vander Straeten (Crypto Finance Group, Deutsche Börse), António Henriques (Bison Bank), Gonzalo Pradas (Openbank) |
| 4:30 p.m. | Making Digital Dollars as Good as Cash: The Corner Shop Test | Fermín Cifuentes (Rain), Malcolm Clarke (Western Union), moderated by Alejandra Dito (Mastercard) |
| 5:00 p.m. | Cryptoassets: Transformation of the Banking Sector (in Spanish) | Benoît Courtois (Unicaja), Xaquin Broz (ABANCA), Aleix Guillaumes (Creand Wealth Management), moderated by Aurora Cuadros (Cecabank) |
| 5:30 p.m. | The infrastructure institutions need to tokenize, settle and move money onchain | Francisco Maroto (BBVA), Mónica T. Ramirez de Arellano (Anchorage Digital), Carlos Arena (Optimism), moderated by Úrsula O’Kuinghttons (Polivox) |
Two sessions set the tone for the day. First, Coty de Monteverde of Banco Santander opens the summit with “Beyond SWIFT: Blockchain as the New Financial Corridor”. Then comes “Making Digital Dollars as Good as Cash: The Corner Shop Test”, with Western Union and Rain. Meanwhile, Francisco Maroto of BBVA closes the panels with a talk on tokenization infrastructure. A cocktail dinner follows, but only speakers and Business ticket holders attend the summit.
Which Panels and Speakers Are Confirmed for October 28 and 29?
The agenda page we could read details only the October 27 sessions. So the confirmed titles for the conference days come from MERGE’s own announcements. For example, Gonçalo Correia of Utila speaks on October 28 in “SWIFT vs Stablecoins: The New Architecture of Cross-Border Settlement”. MERGE announced the panel in a post on X. Pablo Gómez, CEO of Metlabs, also joins a panel session, per MERGE’s post of October 14.
With 200+ speakers across three days, these are just a few of the conversations shaping the future of finance in Europe.
MERGE (@mmerge_io), post on X, October 19, 2026
The official speaker page lists more than 200 names. Regulators appear too, because the list includes the CNMV, the European Banking Authority, the CSSF, Consob and Banco de Portugal. For background on why banks care, read our explainer on why 9 out of 10 banks are betting on stablecoins.
On the sponsor side, MERGE added two Silver sponsors, Utila and Metlabs, between October 14 and 19. It also announced 13 Bronze sponsors. They are Alastria, Applied Blockchain, FazilPay, finperks, hodlinvest, IZERTIS, Ledger, MakaChain, Makapay, Nebeus, Nomad Capitalist, OSL and Reental. Utila, Nebeus and Reental also host side events, so the sponsor news connects to the next section.
How Many MERGE Madrid Side Events Are There, and Who Can Join?
The official list counts 20 side events between October 26 and 29, plus the institutional summit itself, by Cointribune’s count. Most MERGE Madrid side events cluster on October 28, when the main conference starts. By day, October 26 has two events, October 27 has two, October 28 has 14 and October 29 has two.
| Access | Events | What it means |
| Request to join, approval required | 10 | You register on the host’s page and wait for approval |
| Invite only | 6 | Hosts invite their guests directly |
| Speakers and Business ticket holders | 2 | Official MERGE events, the Ripple happy hour and the Optimism cocktail lunch |
| No access details listed | 2 | A Ripple private dinner and a Networking Madrid Innovation private cocktail |
Outside crypto, the same list points to Madrid Tech Week 2026. It runs from October 28 to November 5 at several venues.
Which MERGE Madrid Side Events Accept Requests?
Ten MERGE Madrid side events let you request a place. Each host runs its own registration, so it approves guests one by one, according to the list. MERGE also takes new submissions on its side events page.
| Date | Event | Host | Format |
| October 26 | El Encuentro, Solana en España | La Familia (Solana España) | Community networking |
| October 28 | Post-Merge Reental Afterwork | Reental | Networking and real estate investing |
| October 28 | Community and Networking | Bit2Me | Networking and drinks |
| October 28 | Riserva Madrid: Stablecoins over wine | Range and Utila | Wine tasting and networking |
| October 28 | La Velada Madrid | Figment | Seated dinner |
| October 28 | Beyond the Wallet: A Dinner on Stablecoin Spend, Cards and Global Payments | Jeeves | Seated dinner |
| October 28 | Tritemius side event | Tritemius | Networking and drinks |
| October 28 | LBank Futures FIFA Cup and Checkmate Night | LBank | Football, pizza and beer |
| October 28 | The Lending Room | Nebeus and BitGo | Wine tasting and networking |
| October 29 | AWIC x MERGE Madrid: Breakfast | Association for Women in Cryptocurrency | Panel and networking |
Stablecoins dominate the open invitations. For example, Range and Utila host a wine tasting on stablecoins. Jeeves hosts a dinner on stablecoin spending, cards and global payments. Other events suit different crowds, because Reental runs an afterwork on real estate investing. Meanwhile, the Association for Women in Cryptocurrency pairs a panel with breakfast. Since hosts approve each request, plan your applications ahead.
Which MERGE Madrid Side Events Stay Private?
Six events stay invite only. Anchorage Digital hosts a private dinner on October 26. On October 27, MERGE, CertiK and BlackVogel host DARTE, a regulatory private session. ISBE adds a VIP lunch for it. Then DeFi Technologies and Valour hold a capital markets series on October 28. Mastercard hosts a VIP dinner the same day. Finally, Utila, TRM Labs and Notabene host an institutional lunch on October 29, and interested guests contact the teams.
Two official events sit between public and private. Both the Ripple happy hour and the Optimism cocktail lunch welcome speakers and Business ticket holders, according to the list. They take place on October 28. The list gives no access details for two more events. Ripple hosts a private dinner on October 28, and Networking Madrid Innovation hosts a private cocktail the same day.
How Much Is a MERGE Madrid Ticket, and How Do You Get 20% Off?
As of October 19, 2026, the official ticketing page lists five ticket types from €149 to €2,999 including VAT. It no longer shows the reduced prices that ran until October 15.
| Ticket | Access | Price (VAT incl.) | With 20% off (Cointribune calculation) |
| Discover Pass (1 day, October 28 or 29) | Conference and recorded content for one day | €149 | €119.20 |
| Estándar (2 days) | Conference and exhibition on October 28 and 29, app, networking | €499 | €399.20 |
| Pro (2 days) | Estándar, plus contact with speakers and sponsors through the app | €899 | €719.20 |
| Business (3 days, limited seats) | Pro, plus the October 27 summit, the VIP evening and the speakers lounge | €2,999 | €2,399.20 |
Cointribune is a media partner, so its readers get 20% off a ticket through the organizer’s partner link. The last column shows the result when the discount applies to your ticket. Terms apply, but the ticket covers neither travel nor accommodation.
Book your MERGE Madrid ticket with 20% off (code MERGECOINTRIBUNE20), organizer’s terms apply.
The October 28 and 29 grid remains the main gap, because the official agenda only details the summit so far. Our earlier report on euro stablecoin banks at MERGE Madrid covers the Qivalis side of the debate. The first confirmed date is Tuesday, October 27. At 3:30 p.m., Coty de Monteverde of Banco Santander opens the first summit panel at the Madrid Stock Exchange.
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