At Paris Blockchain Week 2026, taking place April 15–16 at the Carrousel du Louvre, global finance leaders, major institutions, blockchain builders, and policymakers will converge in one of the most closely watched crypto gatherings in Europe.
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The event is expected to draw participants from over 100 countries, bringing together a global mix of banks, asset managers, infrastructure providers, startups, and policymakers under one roof.
Executives from institutions such as BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, and Crédit Agricole are set to appear alongside leading digital asset firms and infrastructure providers, including Bitwise and Mastercard representatives participating in key institutional sessions.
Alongside this institutional presence, ministers, an ambassador, and around twenty Members of the French National Assembly will also take part — reinforcing the growing overlap between financial markets, blockchain infrastructure, and public policy.
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Confirmed government participants include:
Anne Le Hénanff — Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs
Laurent Nuñez — Minister of the Interior
Jean-Didier Berger — Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior
Clara Chappaz — Ambassador for Digital and AI
Michel Barnier
They are joined by roughly twenty Members of the French National Assembly, including Philippe Latombe, Sabrina Sebaihi, Constance Le Grip, and other lawmakers across multiple political blocs.
The key shift is not just attendance — but participation within structured institutional formats designed to bring policymakers and industry into direct dialogue.
France’s Strategic Positioning in Digital Assets
France continues to position itself as one of Europe’s most proactive jurisdictions for digital asset regulation and blockchain development.
Backed by frameworks such as the PACTE law, the PSAN regime, and the rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, France is building a regulatory environment designed to attract both global capital and infrastructure builders.
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Global Finance, Regulated Markets, and Crypto Converge
This year’s PBW is heavily anchored in institutional finance.
Confirmed participants and programming signals include major global institutions such as BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Banque de France, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and leading digital asset firms like Bitwise.
A key highlight is the Mastercard fireside session on April 16, where Christian Rau, SVP at Mastercard, will discuss digital assets, fintech enablement, and blockchain from an institutional perspective.
This reflects a broader shift: traditional finance is no longer observing crypto from a distance — it is actively shaping how it integrates into payments, markets, and infrastructure.
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While the main stage draws attention, much of Paris Blockchain Week is structured around parallel institutional and innovation tracks.
Key side-event layers include:
Institutional Master Stage series
High-level executive interviews and fireside chats featuring global finance leaders such as Mastercard and other institutional players.
StartinBlock innovation track
A dedicated startup and builder ecosystem featuring:
DeFAI (Decentralized Finance + AI) track
Top startup showcases and infrastructure projects
Early-stage pitching and ecosystem acceleration
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Regulated finance and investment track
Focused on:
Bitcoin ETPs and regulated exposure products
Institutional investment strategies
Tokenization of traditional assets
Curated institutional rooms
PBW’s own positioning highlights “built rooms” for institutional networking — signaling invite-only environments for banks, funds, and infrastructure leaders.
Pre-event and ecosystem programming
Including webinars such as the LPEA partnership on tokenization of private markets, showing how PBW extends beyond the main event into continuous institutional dialogue.
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Bottom line
Paris Blockchain Week 2026 is evolving into a multi-layer institutional environment where policy, capital, and infrastructure intersect in real time.
Across stages, private rooms, and parallel tracks, the event reflects a broader shift: digital assets are becoming embedded within Europe’s financial architecture rather than operating at its edges.
