On July 19, 2026, Argentina and Spain will meet in the FIFA World Cup final. Argentina punched their ticket by defeating England 2-1 in the semifinals on July 15. The tournament is co-hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Kraken, Chiliz, and the new face of World Cup sponsorship

In June 2026, Kraken was named FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter, a designation that marks the first time a crypto exchange has held an official FIFA partnership role at this level.

Chiliz, the blockchain infrastructure behind fan tokens for major football clubs and national teams, has reported a significant increase in trading volume tied to World Cup activity. Fans are buying and selling tokenized loyalty instruments that let them vote on minor club decisions and access exclusive content, and they are doing it in much larger numbers as the final approaches.

Nexo holds a partnership with the Argentine Football Association, meaning there is a direct financial relationship between a major crypto lending platform and one of the two teams playing in the final.

Prediction markets and on-chain betting take center stage

Polymarket, the decentralized prediction market platform, has partnered with Blockchain.com to facilitate World Cup outcome markets. The semifinal and final periods have driven significant liquidity into specific outcome contracts, as bettors stake positions on everything from match winners to goalscorers.

FIFA’s blockchain infrastructure and what it means for investors

FIFA has been building out blockchain infrastructure on Avalanche, with the network now supporting over 85,000 created blockchain addresses tied to the tournament’s ticketing and NFT programs. These are actual wallets interacting with a blockchain for a specific, non-speculative purpose: accessing a World Cup ticket or a digital collectible.