FIFA World Cup kicks off in Canada with crypto partners Kraken and Avalanche watching closely

The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially began on June 12 in Toronto, with Canada hosting its first-ever home World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field. But the real story for the crypto world isn’t what happened on the pitch. It’s what’s happening around it.

Three days before kickoff, on June 9, Kraken was announced as FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for North America and Europe. That makes the San Francisco-based exchange part of a growing roster of blockchain-adjacent sponsors that now includes Chiliz, the company behind fan tokens, and Avalanche, which provides blockchain infrastructure for the tournament.

The ceremony, the match, the context

The opening ceremony kicked off at 1:30 p.m. ET, featuring Canadian artists Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé, and Alessia Cara. The match itself followed at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Canada’s group stage schedule continues with fixtures against Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24. This tournament is the first to feature 48 teams, a significant expansion from the traditional 32-team format, and it’s being jointly hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Crypto’s long game with FIFA

FIFA’s relationship with the crypto industry didn’t start this week. The governing body has been layering blockchain partnerships since 2022, when it worked with Algorand on NFTs and brought Chiliz into the fold for fan token initiatives. Avalanche joined the mix to provide underlying blockchain infrastructure.

Kraken’s addition as the official crypto exchange supporter is the latest and arguably most commercially significant step. An exchange sponsorship is different from a technology partnership. Algorand and Avalanche are infrastructure plays. Chiliz is an engagement play. Kraken is a customer acquisition play.

What this means for the crypto market

What it does signal: crypto companies have enough capital and institutional confidence to compete for tier-one sports sponsorships again. After the FTX collapse in late 2022 cratered trust in crypto-sports partnerships, exchanges largely pulled back from splashy marketing. Kraken stepping into a FIFA sponsorship role suggests the industry’s reputational recovery is further along than skeptics might have expected.

What it doesn’t signal: imminent price action for any specific token. Unofficial tokens inspired by the World Cup have already appeared, as they always do around major events, but they carry no official endorsement from FIFA, Kraken, or any tournament partner.

Kraken securing the FIFA relationship means Coinbase, Binance, and other major exchanges did not. In a market where regulatory positioning and brand trust increasingly determine which exchanges attract retail users, a FIFA endorsement carries weight that a Twitter ad campaign simply cannot replicate.

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