Vienna Blockchain Week 2025: 70+ Experts Define the Future of Digital Assets in Europe

Over three days of keynotes, debates, and product launches, Vienna Blockchain Week 2025 demonstrated how Europe’s blockchain ecosystem is actively moving towards real-world integration.

From September 9 to 11, 2025, Vienna Blockchain Week turned the Web3 Hub Vienna into one of Europe’s most important meeting points for blockchain innovators, investors, and policymakers. Organized by DLT Austria under the leadership of Founder Ed Prinz and Head of Growth Nasib Fathi, the three-day business conference and event series featured more than 70 speakers and focused on the intersection of regulation, infrastructure, and digital asset investment.

The first day was dedicated to Security and Forensics, Compliance and Regulations, and Tax and Reporting. Sessions explored the growing complexity of the global regulatory environment for digital assets. Jacek Trzmiel, Head of DACH Sales at Crystal Intelligence, discussed how financial institutions and regulators increasingly combine on-chain and off-chain intelligence to combat money laundering, sanctions evasion, and fraud. Johannes Edlbacher, Partner for Financial Services Tax at PwC Austria, provided an in-depth overview of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and its implications for investors and exchanges. Alireza Siadat from Deloitte Legal Germany addressed five major misconceptions about MiCAR. Paul Neubauer and Alexander Glaser from EY Law Austria examined how rollups, bridges, and Layer 2 infrastructures align with EU regulations, addressing one of the most pressing legal questions in blockchain today.

The second day focused on Bitcoin and Smart Contract Infrastructure, Payments, Stablecoins, and DeFi, culminating in Bybit’s Networking Evening. Nasib Fathi moderated one of the most technically focused and influential discussions of the conference: the “Bitcoin Mining, Energy & Infrastructure” panel, featuring Alexander Neumüller from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Prof. Horst Treiblmaier from Modul University Vienna, and Bernhard Thalhammer from SEND.SOCIAL. Then, a major announcement came from Bybit EU, which officially launched the Bybit Card for Europe, a fully MiCAR-compliant Mastercard debit card that allows crypto holders to spend their digital assets at over 90 million merchants worldwide.

The third day explored Tokenized Assets, Crypto Indices, and the Future of Investment. Berthold Baurek-Karlic (CEO) and Igor Hadziahmetovic (Investment Director) from Venionaire Capital AG unveiled the Venionaire Layer One Select Index (VLONE), Europe’s first regulated Layer-One crypto index, which is now listed on Bloomberg. The index establishes a new institutional benchmark for blockchain investment products and sets the foundation for upcoming ETFs and decentralized token funds. Astrid Woollard, Co-founder and CIO at SMAPE Capital, presented how crypto-native venture funds approach due diligence for early-stage token projects. Andrew Forson, President of DeFi Technologies and Chief Growth Officer at Valour, elaborated on the growing role of exchange-traded products (ETPs) in connecting traditional finance with digital asset markets. He emphasized that ETPs provide a secure and compliant gateway for institutional investors seeking diversified exposure to cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based assets.

A special side event took place at Central European University for the DARTE session, organized by Mariana de la Roche Wills, Founder of BlackVogel, and Dr. Nina-Luisa Siedler, OSCE Expert in Virtual Assets, with the support of the European Commission, Project Catalyst, Bitpanda, Bybit, and DLT Austria. Topics covered the complexities of sharing inside information via decentralized networks, the evolving regulatory treatment of assets such as liquid staking tokens, and the intersection of market abuse regulations as they apply to crypto derivatives under MiCAR and MAR.

Additional highlights included updates on KuCoin EU’s forthcoming approval to receive a MiCA license. With its international focus, high-profile speakers, and major product launches, Vienna Blockchain Week 2025 reinforced Vienna’s role as a center of blockchain innovation in Europe.

The event was supported by an extensive network of partners and sponsors, including PwC Austria, Bybit EU, EY Law Austria, Venionaire Capital AG, SMAPE Capital, Bitcoin Suisse AG, 21shares, Crystal Intelligence, Stellar Development Foundation, Aptos Labs, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, Black Manta Capital Partners, Solidus Labs, ABC Research, Bundesblock, RockLogic, tokenforge, YouHodler, 3Folio GmbH, moonlytics.ai, Boston Consulting Group, USPD.io, Data Intelligence Offensive, LEAN-CODERS, and Enzinger Steuerberatung GmbH.