Kraken Sponsors FIFA, Promptly Reminds 6 Billion Viewers That Crypto Also Crosses Borders ⚽

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has been named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the organizations announced Tuesday, two days before the tournament's opening match. Financial terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed. The agreement runs the full seven weeks of the competition, from June 11 through July 19, across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams and 104 matches, and FIFA projects a cumulative global audience of more than 6 billion viewers. "Football has always crossed borders. So does crypto," said Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi in a statement. "For most of history, the best markets were open only to the few. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is where we show everyone else what they've been missing: an open, borderless financial system that anyone can join with a phone in their pocket. This isn't a future concept. It's here." Kraken's tournament activations begin Wednesday with a multi-country, multi-city countdown concert on the eve of the opening match in Mexico City, where Mexico is scheduled to face South Africa at Estadio Azteca. The San Francisco-based exchange, founded in 2011 and operating in more than 190 countries, said it also plans "fan-focused product experiences" across North America and Europe throughout the tournament.

FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Gai said in a statement that "innovation has always played a central role in how FIFA evolves and enhances the fan experience," adding that the federation is "delighted to partner with Kraken, an organization that shares our commitment to innovation and technology." The deal places Kraken alongside FIFA's longest-standing corporate sponsors, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, and Hyundai-Kia, and extends its existing sports portfolio that already includes Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, Spanish side Atlético de Madrid, German club RB Leipzig, and the Atlassian Williams Racing Formula 1 team.

The exchange is not the only digital-asset firm with a footprint at the tournament. In April, FIFA named ADI Predictstreet, a blockchain-based prediction market platform built on the ADI Chain network and backed by Abu Dhabi institutions, as its first official prediction market partner under a multi-year agreement covering the 2026 competition. Prediction markets, where users buy and sell contracts tied to specific outcomes, have been expanding across professional sports: in November 2025, Polymarket became the official prediction market partner of UFC and Zuffa Boxing under a multiyear agreement, in January the company signed a multiyear deal with Major League Soccer as the league's exclusive prediction market partner for MLS and the Leagues Cup, and Major League Baseball followed in March by naming Polymarket its official prediction market exchange while signing a separate integrity agreement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Law enforcement agencies have separately warned soccer fans about crypto scams targeting people seeking World Cup tickets or merchandise, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has publicly questioned the federal agency overseeing prediction markets. Kraken's announcement arrives against that backdrop, four years after the 2022 "Crypto Bowl" placed Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com, and eToro on the same Super Bowl broadcast; sports marketing from crypto firms slowed after FTX's collapse later that year, though Coinbase returned to the Super Bowl this year and Crypto.com used the broadcast to launch its AI-focused platform, ai.com.