The World Cup has always been the biggest sporting event on the planet. This year, it is also becoming one of the biggest crypto marketing events on the planet.
FIFA named Kraken its Official Crypto Exchange Supporter on June 9, 2026, making it the first time a crypto exchange has held an official sponsorship role at a World Cup. The tournament spans 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, giving Kraken a very large stage to work with.
The partnership is not purely a logo placement exercise. Kraken is expected to activate across host cities, engaging fans directly in markets where crypto adoption rates vary wildly.
A custom blockchain, NFTs, and the war on scalpers
Behind the Kraken deal sits a more ambitious infrastructure play. FIFA Collect, the organization’s digital collectibles platform, migrated from the Algorand blockchain to a custom Layer-1 blockchain built on Avalanche. The reasoning is practical: lower fees and better throughput for the volume of transactions a 104-match tournament generates.
