Crypto firms have plastered their logos on Formula 1 cars, UFC octagons, NBA arenas, and Premier League jerseys. But as the United States prepares to host its first World Cup since 1994, the country’s men’s national team heads into the tournament without a single crypto sponsorship or fan token to its name.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup features an expanded 48-team format, games played across the US, and a striker named Folarin Balogun who is quickly becoming the most important player on the American roster.

Balogun’s rise as the USMNT’s focal point

The Monaco forward scored 19 goals in the 2025-26 Ligue 1 campaign, earning the club’s Bang & Olufsen MVP award and cementing himself as one of the most productive strikers in French football.

Since switching his international allegiance to the US in 2023, Balogun has racked up 27 caps and 9 goals. He was part of the squads that won back-to-back CONCACAF Nations League titles in 2023 and 2024, and his integration into the team’s pre-tournament friendlies has underscored his centrality to whatever attacking system the coaching staff deploys this summer.

Before joining Monaco, he netted 21 goals during a loan spell at Reims in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season.

The crypto sponsorship boom that skipped American soccer

Crypto sports sponsorship spending has climbed 20% year-over-year, reaching $565 million recently. Industry projections put the total at $5 billion by the end of 2026.

Crypto.com paid a reported sum north of $700 million to rename the former Staples Center in Los Angeles. Binance has inked deals with major football clubs across Europe and South America. Fan tokens, powered by platforms like Socios, have become standard fare for clubs from Paris Saint-Germain to Juventus.

As of June 2026, the USMNT has no dedicated fan token and no crypto sponsorship tied to its World Cup preparations.

Why the gap matters for crypto investors

One reading is cautious: US Soccer may be wary of the regulatory environment surrounding crypto partnerships in America. The SEC’s posture toward digital assets, while evolving, has been markedly more aggressive than what regulators in Europe or the Middle East have pursued.

The projected growth to $5 billion in sponsorship spending by the end of 2026 represents a sector that is still expanding rapidly despite periodic market downturns in the underlying assets. Platforms that have built their business models around sports fan engagement, particularly those issuing fan tokens, should be watched closely given the commercial pressure to monetize a home World Cup through tokenized fan experiences.