The 2026 FIFA World Cup is officially underway, and it’s not just the biggest tournament in soccer history. It’s also shaping up to be the most crypto-integrated sporting event ever staged.
With 48 teams competing across 104 matches in 16 host cities throughout North America, the tournament represents a massive expansion from the previous format of 32 teams and 64 games. The tournament runs from June 11 through July 19.
Crypto’s World Cup play
On June 9, just two days before kickoff, Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the tournament. The partnership is designed to promote fan engagement and encourage crypto adoption across North America and Europe during the event, complete with live events and product experiences tied to the matches.
Chainlink has been tapped as the first official prediction market partner for all 104 games, using its oracle technology to power on-chain prediction markets throughout the tournament. Oracles are the infrastructure that feeds real-world data (like match scores) onto blockchains so smart contracts can settle automatically.
