Dec 3–5, 2026 Alcobaça, Portugal

BLOCKCHAIN
CONFLUENCE

Name: Blockchain Confluence 2026
Start: 2026-12-03T09:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-12-05T16:00:00+00:00
Location: Montebelo Mosteiro de Alcobaça Historic Hotel

Where academia, industry and capital converge to shape the future of Blockchain technology.

Co-located with

Oeste CIM Nova Blockchain Lab Nova SBE DOT Knowledge Center IEEE Portugal BLOCKCHAIN.PT / PRR

About

Academia meets Industry.
Projects match Capital.

Blockchain Confluence is the meeting point between blockchain research, real-world adoption, and Venture capital. Running alongside the 2nd IEEE International Conference on Distributed Ledger Technologies (ICDLT 2026), the Confluence opens the conversation beyond the academic track, bringing researchers, practitioners, investors and public institutions into the same room.

Blockchain Confluence 2025

Panel discussion on stage at Blockchain Confluence 2025

Project stands at the Blockchain Confluence 2025 showcase

Academic Presentations

Selected research from IEEE ICDLT, translated for a broader audience. The best of blockchain science, made accessible to everyone.

Industry Panels

Business leaders, policymakers and practitioners debate regulation, digital assets, and the adoption of DLT across finance, energy, health, government and beyond.

Blockchain.PT Showcase

Live demonstrations from the national BLOCKCHAIN.PT agenda, presenting the projects positioning Portugal as a European blockchain hub to the investors and partners ready to scale them.

Program

Two days of conference,
One day of network activities.

The Confluence program runs in parallel with IEEE ICDLT 2026. Sessions listed below are open to all Confluence attendees; the full academic program is available at ieeeicdlt.org.

Day 1 Dec 3 Opening & Welcome Reception

9:00–10:00Welcome Coffee & Registration
10:00–10:15Opening Keynotes
10:15–11:00Keynotes: Where Academia Meets Industry
11:00–11:30Coffee Break
11:30–13:00IEEE ICDLT Papers & Pitch Competition
13:00–14:00Lunch & Networking (Átrio)
14:00–15:00Debate 1
15:00–15:30Coffee Break (Átrio)
15:30–17:00IEEE ICDLT Papers & Pitch Competition
17:00–18:00Moon Talks
18:00–19:30Networking Cocktail
19:30Gala Dinner

Day 2 Dec 4 Showcase Day

9:00–10:00Morning Coffee
10:00–10:15Opening Keynotes
10:15–11:30Keynotes: Where Projects Match Capital
11:30–12:00Coffee Break
12:00–13:00IEEE ICDLT Papers & Pitch Competition
13:00–14:00Lunch & Networking (Átrio)
14:00–15:00Debate 2
15:00–16:00Coffee Break (Átrio)
16:00–17:00IEEE ICDLT Papers & Pitch Competition
17:00–18:00Moon Talks

Day 3 Dec 5 Convergence

9:00–10:00Morning Coffee
10:15–11:30Activities
13:00–14:00Lunch & Networking (Átrio)
14:00–15:00Activities
15:00–16:00Activities

Subject to change.

Speakers

Voices shaping
the ledger.

Speaker announcements begin soon. The first edition featured Illia Polosukhin, co-author of "Attention Is All You Need" and co-founder of NEAR Protocol, and Roman Beck, founding director of the European Decentralization Institute. Expect the same caliber. Stay tuned.

Speakers from last edition

Illia Polosukhin

Near Protocol

Prof. Roman Beck

Bentley University · European Decentralization Institute

Tiago Pratas

Hydrogen Labs

Prof. Gora Datta

IEEE Blockchain Technical Community · UC Berkeley

Sashi Valtz

TreasurySpring

Prof. Miguel Pupo Correia

Instituto Superior Técnico

Luiza Castro Rey

FiO Legal

Henrique Corrêa da Silva

Instituto Português de Bitcoin · Instituto New Economy

Joana Rola de Veludo

IOTA

Anthony Day

VeChain

Venue

A medieval
monastery.

A place where currents join: water, strength, knowledge, faith, love…

Blockchain Confluence 2026 takes place at the Montebelo Mosteiro de Alcobaça Historic Hotel, built alongside the 12th-century Alcobaça Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, just one hour from Lisbon.

Alcobaça owes its very name to a confluence: the city rises where the rivers Alcôa and Baça meet and become one. Its monastery, founded by Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, to seal the birth and strength of the nation, grew into one of medieval Europe's great abbeys, a source of faith and knowledge that endures to this day. Lastly, within its walls rest Pedro and Inês, protagonists of the country's greatest and most moving love story of a king and a lady-in-waiting, who lie in Alcobaça together for eternity.

In December 2026, three new currents will converge in this mythical city: academia, industry and capital.

Registration

Join the
confluence.

Registration grants access to all Confluence sessions: industry panels, the Blockchain.PT Showcase, Academic Presentations and networking events.

Partners & Sponsors

Blockchain Confluence 2026 is organized by OESTE CIM, the Nova Blockchain Lab (NOVA IMS), the Nova SBE Data, Operations & Technology Knowledge Center and the IEEE Portugal Section, and is part of the BLOCKCHAIN.PT agenda, co-funded by the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan and the European Union (NextGenerationEU).

BLOCKCHAIN
CONFLUENCE