SINGAPORE, November 11, 2026 — Singapore Blockchain Week (SBW) returns from November 13 to 17, 2026. The government-supported flagship event brings together a coalition of regulators, financial institutions, sovereign entities, family offices, founders, investors, enterprises, and ecosystem builders to shape the next phase of the new economy.

The speaker lineup features H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON; Jose Fernandez da Ponte, President of the Stellar Development Foundation; Hang Jia, Executive Chairman of DCS Group (Diners Club Singapore); Shun Ishikawa, Co-Founder of Startale Group; Matthew Dawson, Co-founder of Ethereum Institutional; Wee Siang Lee, Executive Director of Paxos; Rahul Bhargava, Senior Financial Sector Consultant at the World Bank and Interim Chief Operating Officer of Contour Network; Nischint Sanghavi, Head of Digital Currencies, Asia Pacific at Visa; Jasoria Advait, Vice President of Kinexys by J.P. Morgan; Albina Gaisina, Blockchain and Digital Innovation Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme; Stéphanie Cabossioras, Chief Strategy & Global Policy Officer at Société Générale-Forge; Inmooo Hwang, CEO of ADDX; Kevin Kang, Co-Founder of Reap; Annabelle Huang, Co-founder and CEO of Altius Labs and Venture Partner at Amber Group; Kiran Mistry, Regional Head of Financial Services for Asia Pacific, Japan & China at SAP; and CK Ong, Acting CEO of SBI Digital Markets.

A Cross-Border Platform for the Next Financial and Digital Era

SBW 2026 is positioned as the world's first cross-border blockchain week, connecting Singapore with Malaysia's Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) to accelerate innovation, investment, and technology collaboration across Southeast Asia. Special economic zones are designated areas where governments coordinate policy and regulatory settings to facilitate trade and investment, and the JS-SEZ links Singapore with neighboring Johor — a geographic anchor for the cross-border collaboration the week aims to accelerate. Partners supporting the initiative include Singapore Global Network – Economic Development Board, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, and Johor Corporation.

The five-day program spotlights the convergence of emerging technologies and financial systems:

• November 13 (Friday): Special Economic Zone Immersion
• November 14 (Saturday): Tech-Enabled Sports
• November 15 (Sunday): Learnathon
• November 16 (Monday): Inner Circle
• November 17 (Tuesday): Institution Summit

Sebastian Zilliacus, Chair of the Singapore Blockchain Week 2026 Advisory Committee, said: "When leaders from Visa, J.P. Morgan, Sony, SAP, the United Nations Development Programme and the world's leading blockchain foundations choose to gather in the same week, it signals how far this industry has come. Our role is to make sure that the week produces more than headlines. We want Singapore Blockchain Week to be where traditional finance and emerging technology stop talking past each other and start building together."

CK Ong, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SBI Digital Markets, commented: "The question for tokenisation is no longer whether the technology works, but whether the market around it does. Pilots become production when regulatory clarity, distribution, custody and commercial viability line up. Regulated players like SBI Digital Markets, who structure and distribute these products, have a real role in building that market, and Singapore Blockchain Week is where we, the regulators and institutions can align."

With the Inner Circle (November 16) and Institution Summit (November 17) closing out the week, those sessions are the program's institutional focal points — the setting Ong pointed to for regulators and institutions to align on the conditions, from regulatory clarity to custody and commercial viability, that determine whether tokenisation pilots move into production.

Advancing AI, DeFi, RWA, and Venture Capital

Singapore Blockchain Week serves as a strategic platform for advancing the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world assets (RWA), and venture capital (VC), while positioning Singapore and the wider ASEAN region at the forefront of global digital transformation. The Southeast Asian gateway aims to foster meaningful dialogue, institutional adoption, and cross-border partnerships through a week of conferences, summits, roundtables, exhibitions, networking sessions, and ecosystem activations. According to the organisers, these themes reflect growing institutional interest in blockchain-powered infrastructure and the convergence of traditional and emerging technologies — a shift mirrored in the roster itself, which spans card networks, banking blockchain units such as J.P. Morgan's Kinexys, enterprise software providers, United Nations agencies, and regulated digital asset firms, the same move from standalone pilots toward interoperable, regulated market infrastructure that speakers like Ong and Mistry describe.

Experience the Future of the Digital Economy

SBW 2026 is designed as a high-level convening point for public and private sector leaders to explore regulatory frameworks, investment opportunities, and technological innovation shaping the next generation of financial systems.

Rahul Bhargava, Senior Financial Sector Consultant at the World Bank and Interim Chief Operating Officer of Contour Network, said: "Supply chains cannot unlock optimal velocity or liberate trapped working capital while trade finance remains paper-bound and disconnected from modern settlements. As the first global, multilateral trade finance platform on blockchain, Contour has been processing live commercial Letters of Credit digitally since 2021. We are bridging this divide and actively addressing the $2.5 trillion trade finance gap through AI-assisted operations, pre-validation against Infocomm Media Development Authority's TradeTrust and Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) standards, and flexible multi-rail settlements, delivered through an accessible, open-utility model. From Contour and XDC Network's home base in Singapore, the Inner Circle Roundtable and Singapore Blockchain Week offer the ideal stage to review with global industry experts how a convergent and streamlined digital trade-to-settlement experience can help unlock supply chain velocity at scale."

Kiran Mistry, Regional Head of Financial Services for Asia Pacific, Japan & China at SAP, who is co-hosting the Inner Circle Roundtable segment of Singapore Blockchain Week 2026, added: "For the digital economy to truly scale, emerging technologies like blockchain and real-world assets must seamlessly connect with the enterprise backbone. At SAP, we believe the next era of financial innovation is about interoperability, bridging decentralized finance with core enterprise systems to deliver real-time treasury visibility, secure cross-border settlements, and tangible business value for institutions."

About the Organiser

Singapore Innovation Centre brings practical experience in moving Web3 innovation into real-world applications, including agentic commerce and ticketing, Web3-powered human-layer running experiences, and stablecoin payments for merchandise. These initiatives, the organiser says, demonstrate how blockchain can move beyond theory into tangible use cases that connect businesses, institutions, and communities.

Raymond Ngan, Managing Director, who manages the intellectual property of Singapore Blockchain Week, commented: "This flagship event serves as a strategic platform to connect institutions, enterprises, investors, and technology innovators in shaping the future of the digital economy. With Singapore as a regional gateway and creating new opportunities for cross-border collaboration, we aim to strengthen Singapore and Southeast Asia's position in the global digital economy, particularly as Singapore prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027."

Through curated programming and cross-border engagement, the event is designed to strengthen collaboration between traditional finance and emerging decentralized ecosystems, while supporting responsible innovation across the region. Additional information and event registration are available at

About SBI Digital Markets

SBI Digital Markets is a subsidiary of SBI Digital Asset Holdings, the digital asset arm of Japan's leading conglomerate SBI Group. With the largest securities account customer base and the second-largest trading market in Japan, SBI Group has a global network across 26 countries and regions, including key markets in Asia and Europe. SBI Digital Markets offers clients a comprehensive digitalisation framework spanning origination, tokenisation, distribution, and custody services across traditional and Web 3 securities products. More information:

About SAP

SAP is a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, helping organizations run mission-critical operations across finance, procurement, supply chain, human resources, and customer experience — moving from systems that record work to systems that can help execute it. The company's stated goal is to be the #1 Business AI company, powering the Autonomous Enterprise, with partners amplifying its value through solution innovation, deep product expertise, and world-class services. Over more than 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP with business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. The company has 110,000+ employees from 157+ countries, €36.8 billion in total revenue (non-IFRS) in FY2025, 300 million+ subscribers in its cloud user base, 100+ development locations worldwide, an AAA MSCI ESG rating, and a Top 5% S&P ESG Score. More information:

About Contour Pte Ltd

Contour Network is a digital trade finance network connecting banks, corporates, and technology partners to modernize global trade through blockchain technology and digital documentation. Its institutional ecosystem includes leading financial institutions such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, Bangkok Bank, DBS, ICBC, and Bank of China, alongside corporates including Tata Steel, Tata International, and United Tractors. With strategic backing from XDC Ventures, Contour is exploring stablecoin-enabled settlement, cross-border payments, and programmable trade finance through its Stable-Coin Lab. By bridging traditional banking infrastructure with blockchain innovation, Contour is advancing more transparent, efficient, and connected trade finance solutions for global commerce. More information:

About Singapore Innovation Centre

Singapore Innovation Centre is a platform focused on innovation, enterprise development, and industry collaboration, supporting businesses in areas including innovation planning, digital transformation, industry partnerships, and market development. Early in its formation, the Centre championed the Singapore Food United e-commerce platform, endorsed by the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association and officially launched in the presence of Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry. It has been commissioned by Workforce Singapore – Ministry of Manpower to conduct Industry Catalyst Programmes supporting enterprise capability development, and in recent years has supported heartland businesses in industry engagement and digitalisation under appointment by the Federation of Merchants' Associations Singapore, with support from Enterprise Singapore. The organisation also manages the intellectual property of three government-supported, industry-led flagship platforms: Singapore Artificial Intelligence Week, Singapore Blockchain Week, and Singapore Sustainability Festival, which serve as catalysts for emerging technologies, enterprise innovation, and cross-sector ecosystem collaboration. More information:

Media contact: Mr. Andy Zhang, management@singaporeinnovationcentre.com

This story was first published on Chainwire.