The 2026 World Cup just hit its first rest day, and crypto markets have been running even harder than the players

Twenty-eight consecutive days of football. That’s how long the 2026 FIFA World Cup ran before players, fans, and apparently the scheduling gods themselves decided everyone needed a breather. July 8 marked the tournament’s first rest day since kickoff on June 11, a marathon stretch that reflects just how massive this expanded 48-team, 104-match tournament has become.

But while the pitches across Canada, Mexico, and the United States sat empty for a day, crypto markets tied to the World Cup barely paused. Prediction markets linked to the tournament have surpassed $2 billion in trading volume, fan tokens are surging, and FIFA itself has formally embraced the industry by partnering with Kraken as its first-ever Official Crypto Exchange Supporter.

Kraken’s partnership with FIFA, announced on June 9 just two days before the tournament began, represents the first time a crypto exchange has held an official sponsorship role at the World Cup.

FIFA has also turned to the Avalanche blockchain to power trading of tournament-related digital collectibles, a meaningful real-world use case for the AVAX network.

FIFA hasn’t launched its own official World Cup token. The organization appears to be taking a measured approach, opting to collaborate with established crypto platforms rather than mint its own speculative asset.