The 2026 FIFA World Cup opened in Toronto on Thursday night with Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna and Canadian artist Jessie Reyez performing “Illuminate” at BMO Field. But for the crypto industry, the real headline was everything happening around the pitch, not on it.
Three days before the opening ceremony, FIFA announced Kraken as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the tournament. Chainlink is powering the event’s official prediction markets. Chiliz is running fan tokens. And Avalanche is hosting FIFA’s blockchain platform. For a sport that reaches roughly half the planet’s population, that is an extraordinary amount of crypto infrastructure woven into a single event.
The biggest stage crypto has ever had
The 2026 World Cup is the first edition to feature 48 teams, expanding from the traditional 32. It’s co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, spanning three countries and dozens of venues.
Kraken’s role as official crypto exchange supporter, announced on June 9, positions the San Francisco-based exchange in front of billions of cumulative viewers over the course of the tournament.
