Stakely at MERGE Madrid 2026: staking, connections and next steps
At Stakely, we returned to MERGE Madrid as sponsors for the third consecutive year, and came away with a feeling shared by many of those who visited our booth: the conversations are changing. Ideas that seemed a long way off just a few years ago now come with concrete requirements, technical questions and teams ready to take the next step.
From October 27 to 29, MERGE Madrid 2026 brought together financial institutions, regulators and businesses from across the blockchain ecosystem. The event opened with the Institutional Summit at Bolsa de Madrid, followed by two days at Palacio de Cibeles. We were there to share our experience, listen and reconnect with the community.
A booth for conversations about what comes next
Throughout the event, we discussed how to integrate staking into existing platforms and services, the challenges institutions face and where we can help as infrastructure operators.
We also showed how our Staking API enables teams to offer staking without building and maintaining their own validator infrastructure. For us, these conversations start with understanding what each team wants to offer and how staking fits into its product, custody model and user experience.
There was room for other day-to-day needs, too. With Conta Finance, we spoke with businesses and professionals looking to manage the accounting for their crypto transactions. A reminder that adoption also depends on tools that make working with these assets more organised and straightforward.
And between explanations, questions and demonstrations came one of our favourite parts: meeting people we usually only see on a screen.
Staking took the stage, too
Our CEO and Co-founder, José Antonio Hernández Solano, joined the panel “Institutional Yield as a Service: Bridging TradFi and DeFi at Scale”.
He shared the stage with Andrew Forson, from DeFi Technologies and Valour; DMH, from Fluid; and Pedro Sandoval, from RSM Spain, with Xavi Armengol moderating. The session explored the connection between traditional finance and DeFi, institutional yield products and the challenges involved in developing them.
For us at Stakely, taking part in these discussions is an opportunity to bring the perspective of infrastructure operators: behind every staking service are technical decisions, operational responsibilities and an experience that needs to work for the people using it.
Thank you for stopping by. See you at the next MERGE
We came away with questions worth exploring further, new contacts and conversations that will continue beyond Madrid. Hearing first-hand what other teams need helps us shape the infrastructure and products we build.
Thank you to everyone who visited our booth, shared an idea or made time to get to know us. And thank you to the MERGE team for bringing us together again and taking such good care of us throughout the event.
If we started a conversation in Madrid, let’s keep it going. See you at the next MERGE!
