Ibiza Forum: Europe’s post-MiCA debate on stablecoins, RWA

May 21 at the Ibiza Tech Forum, held May 19–22 across venues on the island, featured two headline sessions at the Caló de s’Oli Auditorium that centered on stablecoins, real‑world assets and the infrastructure needed for crypto markets to operate under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. The sessions were hosted by Jakub Dziadkowiec.

An opening session titled “On-Chain and Unfiltered” featured Evan Luthra and Yana Makhnyk in a wide-ranging discussion about influence, capital flows and how Web3 projects translate community and technology into commercial outcomes. Panelists examined who drives capital and influence in the sector and considered practical outcomes for projects beyond promotional narratives.

A roundtable called “Redefining Financial Infrastructure: Stablecoins, RWA and the Next Global Markets” brought together executives building core rails: Sam Buxton of Damex, Víctor Sáez of Kraken, Nelson Enrique Moran of Trezora, María Sánchez of Reental, Erick Ortiz of BBVA and Christopher Siedentopf of CRS Advisory and Qapture Investments. Participants focused on requirements for settlement finality, alignment of rules across jurisdictions and scalable processes for onboarding real‑world assets. Panelists argued that clear settlement guarantees, interoperable compliance frameworks and operational standards are prerequisites for larger institutional capital to transact on-chain rather than in legacy settlement systems.

Earlier on Thursday, an exchanges-led roundtable gathered representatives from MoonPay, Bit2me, Criptan, Bitvavo and Mandioca with legal counsel from Asensi Abogados. Participants described a change in approach to regulation: firms reported treating compliance as a competitive advantage rather than an existential threat. A subsequent panel, “The New Financial Backbone,” included representatives from Bitget, Bybit EU, the Solana Foundation, TradingView and FX Street and examined the market infrastructure operators are deploying inside Europe’s regulatory framework. Daniela Herrmann, CEO of Dynex, delivered a keynote on quantum computing and its potential effects on future technology stacks.

The forum split programming across multiple south-island venues, including Romeos Hotel, Hotel Bonito Ibiza, Es Jardins de Fruitera and Cova Santa, and ran six thematic tracks: AI, Bank & Fintech, Smart Islands & Smart Mobility, Health Tech, Web3 & Blockchain and SportTech. The schedule combined formal sessions with networking events: a startup semi-final at Romeos, a TradingView trading competition at Hotel Bonito, a Female Founders & Investors session and a closing dinner at Cova Santa. The final day included an invite-only boat trip to Formentera for senior attendees.

An organizing team reported conducting roughly nine on-site interviews and establishing more than 30 C-level contacts across exchanges, infrastructure providers, asset managers and adjacent sectors. Named contacts developed at the event included Teresa Castagnino of Like Group Management, Yossi Goldsmith and Cristo Millar of IKAL, Iñaki Zubeldia and Mayte Clara of Yoseyomo, Oleg Morgunov of TradingView, Jordi Urbea of Ogilvy Spain, Javier Pastor of Bit2me, Georg Harer of Bybit EU, Daniela Herrmann of Dynex and María Sánchez of Reental.

Speakers and attendees at the sessions and roundtables assessed specific operational issues for the post‑MiCA market: which settlement models deliver finality, how stablecoins will link to bank and custody systems, and what standards and processes are needed to tokenize and manage real‑world assets at scale. Panel discussions identified settlement speed, certainty, compliance workflows and asset‑onboarding standards as concrete items shaping product design and partnership strategies across Europe.