Elijah Just buried a corner kick in the 84th minute to pull one back for New Zealand against Belgium at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Just previously scored a brace against Iran, becoming the first New Zealander to net multiple goals in a single World Cup match. His late strike against Belgium triggered real-time shifts in tournament odds across decentralized betting platforms.
Prediction markets are having their World Cup moment
Polymarket, the largest crypto-native prediction platform, has generated nearly $2B in trading volume on World Cup-related markets. That figure encompasses everything from match outcomes to group-stage qualification bets to outright winner odds.
Prediction markets have existed in crypto for years, but they’ve historically been driven by political events and token price speculation. A World Cup generating this level of activity suggests sports betting may be the use case that brings prediction markets closer to mainstream adoption.
Crypto’s fingerprints are all over this World Cup
