Dear Friends, Partners & Builders,

🚀 Vienna Blockchain Week 2027 (VBW27) is officially live.

After three highly successful editions, Austria’s largest international Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Assets conference returns on:

📅 June 2–3, 2027
🕐 Daily from 13:00 until late
📍 Vienna, Austria

This is not just another conference.

VBW27 is where Europe’s crypto elite shapes the next cycle.

Over two intensive days, we bring together founders, exchanges, investors, banks, regulators, developers, institutional players and infrastructure builders from across Europe and beyond.

Topics include:
• Digital Assets
• Stablecoins & CBDCs
• Tokenization & RWAs
• AI & Blockchain
• MiCA & Regulation
• Institutional Adoption
• DeFi Infrastructure
• Compliance & Security

Last editions featured participants and speakers from organizations such as:
PwC, BCG, WhiteBit, Bybit, 21Shares, AMINA Bank, EY, RBI, TON Foundation, Aptos Labs, Crypto Finance Group, Chainalysis, Crystal Intelligence, Ledger, 21Bitcoin, SwissBorg, Kinstellar, Cerha Hempel, Gresham International, OSCE, Hodl, YouHodler, Alphaparty, Zilliqa, Qivalis, Orange Wheel, Bybit, and many more.

⚡ Why people attend VBW:
• High-level networking with real decision-makers
• Institutional and technical deep-dives
• Direct access to founders and investors
• Elite networking environment
• One of Europe’s most exciting crypto communities

And of course:

🍸 The legendary VBW Afterparty returns on both days - open end.

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🎟 SUPER EARLY BIRD TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
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🔥 2-Day Standard Pass — €108
Only 50 spots available at this price.

⚡ 2-Day VIP Pass — €228
Only 19 VIP spots available at this price.

Prices will increase once the current tier sells out.

⚠️ Capacity is intentionally limited to ensure high-quality networking and meaningful conversations.

Do not wait for the next price increase.

👉 Secure your ticket now:
Vienna Blockchain Week 2027

The future of Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Assets is being built now - in Europe.

Be in the room where it happens.

💫 "𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧! – How We Create Cost Efficient and Optimized Reports” is now available on YouTube.

A highly practical and insightful discussion from the West Stage at Vienna Blockchain Week, focused on one of the biggest challenges in the digital assets industry:

How to create compliant, optimized and scalable crypto tax reports in increasingly complex multi chain environments.

A big thank you to:

• Johannes Edlbacher, Partner Financial Services Tax at PwC Austria
• Fabian Fuhrmann, CEO at Digital Contract Solutions GmbH

The session covered:

• Crypto tax reporting challenges
• Cross chain transactions
• Wallet and exchange data issues
• Blockchain forensics
• Tax optimization strategies
• Staking and trading bot taxation
• Data reconciliation and compliance workflows

An important discussion for investors, institutions, tax professionals and everyone operating in the crypto space.

Watch the full panel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsrkHvYnsE0

More about Vienna Blockchain Week:
https://viennablockchainweek.org/

💫 Real estate investing is being reimagined through blockchain.
At Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, Hadil Krenn COO & Product Development 4tf Ownitnow GmbH shared how regulated Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization is opening new opportunities for investors while maintaining the legal certainty required for mainstream adoption.

One of the biggest challenges of traditional real estate investing has always been accessibility. High capital requirements, limited liquidity, and complex ownership structures have prevented many investors from participating.
Ownitnow is tackling this challenge by enabling:

• Fractional ownership of real estate starting from €1,000
• Regulated security tokens under European frameworks
• Increased liquidity through secondary market trading
• Enhanced investor protection through legal ownership structures
• Transparent and compliant digital asset issuance

The presentation highlighted an important point that is often overlooked in the blockchain industry:

Technology alone is not enough. Adoption requires trust, regulation, compliance, and real-world utility.
As tokenization continues to evolve, real estate is emerging as one of the strongest use cases for bringing trillions of dollars of traditional assets on-chain.

Thank you, Hadil, for sharing valuable insights into the future of regulated digital assets and real estate tokenization.

What do you think will be the first asset class to achieve true mass adoption through tokenization?


https://youtu.be/BUFuEvNXjFM?si=V3LCF32H0ZSAHzrZ

💫 New Video Release from Vienna Blockchain Week 2026
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?

In this opening keynote, Prof. Alfred Taudes, Managing Director of Austrian Blockchain Center - ABC Research Research and one of Austria's leading blockchain researchers, takes us on a fascinating journey through more than a decade of blockchain research and innovation.
The talk explores:

• Why Bitcoin's security is ultimately based on economic incentives
• The academic evidence behind Bitcoin as a portfolio asset
• The emergence of Ethereum and smart contracts
• The rise of DeFi and Automated Market Makers (AMMs)
• Stablecoins, Terra/Luna, and lessons learned
• The Digital Euro and CBDCs
• Tokenization and real-world applications
• Privacy-preserving blockchain protocols
• The critical role universities play in driving innovation

One of the key takeaways:
Blockchain is no longer just about "Digital Gold."

We are witnessing the transition toward programmable financial infrastructure that has the potential to reshape how value is created, exchanged, and governed.

A must-watch for builders, investors, researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of digital assets.

Watch the full keynote below 👇
https://youtu.be/4KWj_9eiXkY

💫 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬: 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐂𝐀, 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Video: https://youtu.be/ibsst_WDSR4

But one key question remains:
Can Europe turn regulation into real adoption before the rest of the world catches up?

At Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, I had the pleasure of attending and moderating discussions around one of the most important topics in our industry:

"Building Bridges: Europe's Role in the Global Digital Assets Economy"

Together with an outstanding panel of industry leaders, we explored:
• The impact of MiCA on innovation and market growth
• Stablecoins and the future of cross border payments
• Institutional adoption of digital assets
• Tokenization of financial infrastructure
• Europe vs. US competitiveness in blockchain and crypto
• The future role of banks in a tokenized economy
• Why capital deployment matters as much as regulation

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was clear:
Europe has created the rules. Now it's time to build.

Many of the technologies, regulatory frameworks, and institutional foundations are already in place. The next challenge is transforming these advantages into products, businesses, and global market leadership.

A big thank you to our fantastic panelists:
• Martin Sprengseis-Kogler — Managing Partner, bluesource - mobile solutions gmbh – mobile solutions GmbH (Moderator)
• Anastasios Koulouris — Member of the Executive Board & Managing Director, AMINA Bank (Austria) AG
• François Centeno Lemaire — Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Iqana
• Clemens Pachta-Rayhofen — Managing Director, Cryptonow
• Elma Saric — Senior Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystems Analyst, Group Strategy & Innovation, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI)
• Benjamin Duve — Global Head of Partnerships, GK8 by Galaxy (Nasdaq: GLXY)

And thank you to everyone who joined us at Vienna Blockchain Week 2026 and contributed to the conversation.

The future of digital assets will not be built by a single company, bank, regulator, or country.

It will be built through collaboration.

💫𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨.
At Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, Christoph Finsterer (EY) delivered an insightful keynote on why taxation remains the biggest blind spot in today's crypto policy debate.

Some of the key takeaways:
• The era of crypto tax transparency has arrived with DAC8 and CARF.
• Tax authorities across Europe are significantly increasing their focus on digital assets.
• Fragmented tax rules remain one of the biggest barriers for companies operating across Europe.
• Better transaction reporting will become a competitive advantage for exchanges and crypto service providers.
• VAT is still one of the least addressed areas in European crypto regulation and deserves far more attention.

One message stood out throughout the keynote: good regulation alone is not enough. Without modern, practical, and harmonized tax frameworks, Europe risks slowing innovation while increasing complexity for builders, investors, and regulated crypto businesses.

A big thank you to Christoph Finsterer for sharing his expertise and bringing much-needed attention to one of the most important but often overlooked topics in the digital asset ecosystem.

Full Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg9C5zDrmUA

💫𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.
At Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, Ilja Geier, EMBA (Bullish) shared a fascinating briefing on how stablecoins are reshaping payments, settlements, regulation, and the future of money.

Some of the key takeaways:

• The 2023 USDC depeg fundamentally changed how regulators approach stablecoins.
• Europe's MiCA framework and the U.S. GENIUS Act are defining two different regulatory models.
• Stablecoins are increasingly solving real-world payment problems not just enabling crypto trading.
• Cross-border settlements can become significantly faster, cheaper, and more efficient than traditional banking infrastructure.
• The real competition is no longer between crypto projects it's between traditional payment rails and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

One insight stood out: the future isn't about the stablecoin itself it's about the payment network it enables. As adoption grows, stablecoins have the potential to become one of blockchain's most impactful real-world applications.

A big thank you to Ilja Geier for sharing his expertise and providing a thoughtful perspective on where global payments, regulation, and digital finance are heading.

🎥 Watch the full keynote here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlUnwvCHQk

🔐 Digital Identity & Zero Knowledge: Compliance Without Surveillance?

How can we meet regulatory requirements without exposing more personal data than necessary?

At Vienna Blockchain Week, experts from research, decentralized identity, privacy tech and hardware wallets discussed:

• Zero Knowledge Proofs
• Decentralized Identity & Verifiable Credentials
• eIDAS 2.0 & the EUDI Wallet
• Privacy vs. blockchain transparency
• Governance and trusted issuers
• MPC & Fully Homomorphic Encryption
• The future of privacy-preserving compliance

A key takeaway: Zero Knowledge Proofs are a powerful tool, but not a silver bullet. Technology, governance, regulation and trust need to evolve together.

🎥 Watch the full panel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGZMwPJTq2U

💵 Stablecoins 2026: Settlement, Regulation & Global Payment Rails

Are stablecoins becoming the new global payment infrastructure?
At Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, experts from law, regulation and financial infrastructure discussed how stablecoins are moving far beyond crypto trading and into:
• Cross-border payments & settlement
• Enterprise treasury management
• Institutional finance
• Global payment rails
• MiCA & regulatory readiness
• U.S. regulation and global competition
• Digital identity & cross-border commerce
• Real-world enterprise adoption
One of the key themes: Stablecoins are increasingly becoming financial infrastructure rather than just a crypto-native product.
The panel also explores what this shift means for banks, enterprises, regulators and payment providers — and where the market could be heading in 2027.

🎙 Moderator: Eric Heinemann, cryptonerds.com
Panelists:
Miriam Broucek – Kinstellar
Luca Castellani – Senior Advisor, Digital Trade
Alaa Hussaini – Hussaini Legal Group
Stefan Becker (Crypto Shorts) – Web3, AI & Financial Infrastructure

🎥 Watch the full panel:
https://youtu.be/gQKpDjA3Ypw?si=PP9JEGov6NIKPwwd