Kylian Mbappé just scored his 10th goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The French forward has now accumulated 20 career World Cup goals across three tournaments, four in 2018, eight in 2022, and at least eight in 2026, placing him among the top three all-time scorers in the competition’s history.

For the crypto industry, though, the bigger story might be what’s not happening on the sidelines. The world’s most-watched sporting event, featuring arguably the planet’s most marketable athlete, has essentially zero visible connection to digital assets.

Mbappé’s numbers are genuinely ridiculous

Mbappé’s 9th and 10th knockout-stage World Cup goals set a new all-time record, surpassing legends like Brazil’s Leônidas and Ronaldo. His performances across this expanded 48-team tournament, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, have included braces against Sweden and goals against Paraguay and Morocco.

With 20 career World Cup goals, Mbappé is closing in on Lionel Messi’s record of 21.

Where did all the crypto sponsors go?

Rewind to 2022, and the crypto industry was plastered across every major sporting event. Crypto.com had the naming rights to the Staples Center. FTX was on MLB umpire uniforms. Binance was an official FIFA sponsor. Fan tokens from Socios were being hawked during every Champions League broadcast.

At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappé has no discernible crypto partnerships, NFT collections, or token affiliations tied to his tournament run. The 2022-2023 crypto winter, punctuated by the collapse of FTX, the implosion of Terra/Luna, and a cascade of regulatory enforcement actions, torched the industry’s sports marketing budget.

The fan engagement gap is real

Fan tokens, which surged in trading volume during the 2022 World Cup, have largely faded from mainstream sports conversations. Chiliz, the platform behind most major fan tokens, still operates but hasn’t recaptured the cultural momentum it had two years ago.