The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage kicks off on July 5 with one of the tournament’s most anticipated matchups: Brazil vs. Norway at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. And while football purists are busy debating whether Vinícius Júnior or Erling Haaland will steal the show, the crypto industry is quietly having its own moment.
From prediction markets on Polymarket to fan token trading and crypto-native sportsbooks accepting Bitcoin wagers, this World Cup cycle has become the clearest signal yet that blockchain infrastructure is weaving itself into the fabric of global sports.
Crypto’s growing footprint in the beautiful game
Kraken was named FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter in June 2026, a partnership that places a major centralized exchange at the center of the world’s most-watched sporting event.
The deal builds on FIFA’s previous blockchain experiments, most notably its collaboration with Algorand to issue NFTs during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
