EBC12 Returns to Barcelona on 16–17 September

The European Blockchain Convention will return to Barcelona for its 12th edition on 16–17 September 2026, bringing together more than 300 speakers and over 5,000 attendees from banking, asset management, regulation, infrastructure and digital-asset markets.

EBC12 will take place at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, the event’s new venue in Barcelona. The programme is designed to connect the institutions, policymakers and technology companies shaping Europe’s regulated digital-asset market.

Europe Enters Its Post-Transition MiCA Phase

EBC12 takes place 11 weeks after the 1 July 2026 end of the European Union’s maximum transitional period under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

Under the transitional framework, eligible crypto-asset service providers operating under national law could continue providing services until 1 July 2026 or until their MiCA authorisation was granted or refused.

With that period now ended, the European market’s attention is shifting towards crypto-asset service provider licensing, stablecoin issuance, regulatory market structure and the potential use of central bank digital currencies in cross-border settlement.

EBC12 will bring these discussions into a two-day programme focused on how digital assets can scale within Europe’s regulatory framework.

Institutional Digital-Asset Activity Accelerates

European financial institutions are increasing their exposure to regulated digital-asset services and infrastructure.

In April 2026, Deutsche Börse Group announced a $200 million strategic investment in Kraken’s parent company, Payward, covering regulated crypto markets, tokenised assets, derivatives and institutional liquidity.

Santander’s digital bank, Openbank, has also expanded its cryptocurrency trading service across Germany and Spain. Customers can buy, sell and hold selected crypto-assets through the bank’s platforms under the European regulatory framework.

These developments reflect the institutional market shift that EBC12’s programme will examine in Barcelona.

EBC expects representatives from 80 of Europe’s 100 largest banks to attend the 2026 edition, compared with 50 at the previous event.

Eight years ago, we built EBC because we believed Europe would be where this industry matured. A lot of people thought we were early. In 2026, European banks are deploying capital, institutional products are live across major markets, and the regulatory framework is in place. EBC is where the people driving that change meet once a year to do real business, said Victoria Gago, Co-CEO of European Blockchain Convention and Digital Assets Forum.

EBC12 Programme and Confirmed Speakers

Sessions will cover institutional capital allocation, real-world asset tokenisation, regulatory market structure and the future of stablecoins and CBDCs as settlement infrastructure.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Emma Landriault, Global Head of Kinexys Labs at J.P. Morgan Chase;
• Mohamad Zaraket, Head of Digital Assets Strategy, EMEA at BNY;
• Kathleen Wrynn, Global Head of Digital Assets at Invesco;
• Victor Jung, Global Head of Digital Assets at Hamilton Lane;
• Previn Singh, Head of Tokenisation Strategy at Fidelity International;
• Colin Payne, Head of Innovation at the Financial Conduct Authority; and
• Jeff Lunglhofer, Chief Information Security Officer at Coinbase.

They will be joined by speakers from banks, asset managers, regulators, exchanges, infrastructure providers and digital-asset companies.

Meetings, Investor Access and Media Facilities

Alongside the main programme, EBC12 will include more than 10,000 pre-arranged one-to-one meetings through its event platform.

The convention will also feature a Buy Side Breakfast for allocators and institutional investors, dedicated meeting areas, and a press room that provides media representatives with access to participating speakers.

EBC12 expects more than 5,000 attendees for two days of market discussions, networking and commercial meetings at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya.

• Event: European Blockchain Convention 12 (EBC12)
• Dates: 16–17 September 2026
• Venue: Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
• Website: eblockchainconvention.com
• Press enquiries: ebc@yapglobal.com or samvidha@yapglobal.com
• Social: LinkedIn