Istanbul, Turkey – March 2026 – Istanbul Blockchain Week has announced the launch of the Institutional Markets Summit, a closed-door institutional forum aimed at policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, asset managers, exchanges, and infrastructure providers. The summit will take place on June 2, 2026 at the Hilton Bomonti Hotel in Istanbul.
Organized by Web3 marketing agency EAK Digital, the event will examine the structural evolution of digital assets within regulated financial markets — a theme of growing relevance as institutional adoption accelerates across both traditional finance and the broader crypto ecosystem.
What to Expect from the Institutional Markets Summit
The summit is designed as a convergence point for senior leaders across traditional finance, private markets, tokenized capital markets, regulation, and custody. The focus: exploring rapidly evolving market structures as digital assets move deeper into mainstream financial infrastructure.
Attendance is strictly limited to high-level decision-makers driving institutional digital asset adoption — including government policymakers, financial regulators, central bank representatives, institutional investors, market operators, stablecoin issuers, payment networks, and risk management executives.
As the first edition of the event within Istanbul Blockchain Week, the summit builds on the established success of previous IBW editions, which featured speakers including Mehmet Çamır, Chairman of OKX TR; Ali İhsan Güngör, Executive Vice President of the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye; Onur Güven, CEO of Garanti BBVA Digital Assets; Petra Janež, Head of Fintech & Digital Asset Supervision at Slovenia's Ministry of Finance; Paul Brody, Global Blockchain Leader at Ernst & Young Global; and many others.
Erhan Korhaliller, CEO of EAK Digital and founder of Istanbul Blockchain Week, commented: "As traditional financial institutions increasingly embrace digital assets, blockchain technologies, and cryptocurrencies, we are proud to launch a dedicated summit to explore these developments, navigate the opportunities, and shape the future of institutional adoption."
Key thematic areas will include liquidity formation, capital markets integration, custody, settlement infrastructure, compliance frameworks, and the incorporation of digital assets into existing financial and capital market systems.
The program also includes closed-door roundtables with sovereign wealth funds and institutional leaders, facilitating strategic dialogue among the senior decision-makers shaping the global digital asset landscape.
Why Istanbul?
Positioned at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Istanbul offers a uniquely central meeting point for capital and institutions from all three regions — providing the geographic and economic connectivity essential for cross-border institutional dialogue.
Turkey processed nearly $200 billion in cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2025, making it one of the world's largest markets by transactional activity, according to a Chainalysis report. The introduction of a new economic bill and digital asset reporting frameworks — including a 10% withholding tax on crypto gains — signals a significant step toward aligning digital assets with traditional financial instruments under Turkish law.
With growing cross-border connectivity in liquidity and settlement, Istanbul has established itself as a key hub within a rapidly developing fintech ecosystem, with digital asset usage deeply embedded in broader economic activity.
Participation in the Institutional Markets Summit is limited to institutional leaders, policymakers, and Istanbul Blockchain Week VIP pass holders by invitation only, ensuring a high-caliber audience of senior decision-makers from global financial markets.
About Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW)
Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW) is Turkey's leading Web3 conference and expo, bringing together founders, developers, investors, enterprises, creators, and policymakers in the heart of Istanbul. Produced by EAK Digital, IBW spotlights the technologies and people shaping the worlds of crypto, DeFi, AI agents, gaming, and real-world assets. Recent editions have welcomed over 20,000 attendees and 500+ speakers from leading protocols, exchanges, and institutions. The program includes a main-stage conference, large-scale expo, KOL Summit, investor roundtables, workshops, and curated networking designed to generate real deal flow.
For more information and to purchase IBW tickets, visit: https://istanbulblockchainweek.com/tickets/
