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Kylian Mbappé has now scored in every single World Cup match he’s played. Eighteen goals in eighteen games, with one more needed to surpass Lionel Messi’s all-time tournament record of 19.
The Mbappé effect on prediction markets
Ahead of France’s group-stage clash with Sweden on June 30, 2026, Coinbase prediction markets recorded more than $465,000 in trading volume. The bulk of that activity centered on a straightforward bet: France winning in regulation time.
France obliged with a 3-0 victory at MetLife Stadium, with Mbappé scoring twice. The result advanced France into the Round of 16 and extended several of the striker’s knockout-stage records.
Mbappé’s 2026 tournament has been especially prolific. He’s bagged six goals so far this summer, adding to the four he scored during France’s 2018 World Cup triumph and the eight he netted in 2022, including a hat trick in the final against Argentina.
Meme tokens ride the wave, but bring the usual risks
On the more speculative end of the crypto spectrum, Solana-based meme tokens have latched onto Mbappé’s dominance. The $MBAPPE token, in particular, has seen notable price spikes following his performances against Sweden and other opponents in the tournament.
Past surges in $MBAPPE-related meme tokens have reportedly pushed market caps as high as $460 million. Many of these surges have been tied to scam activity. Pump-and-dump schemes have historically exploited the hype around celebrity-adjacent tokens, and $MBAPPE has been no exception.
Mbappé’s actual crypto ties run deeper than meme coins
Since 2022, Mbappé has served as both an investor and ambassador for Sorare, the fantasy sports NFT platform that lets users build teams using digital player cards. Sorare is a venture-backed platform with licensing deals across major football leagues, and Mbappé’s involvement gave it significant visibility during the 2022 World Cup cycle.
The contrast between Mbappé’s legitimate Sorare partnership and the unlicensed meme tokens trading on his likeness highlights a tension that crypto still hasn’t resolved. Athletes can endorse regulated platforms, but they can’t stop anonymous developers from spinning up tokens bearing their name on permissionless blockchains.
What investors should actually watch
The $465,000 in Coinbase prediction market volume around a single group-stage match is notable, but still relatively modest compared to traditional sports betting volumes. Prediction markets on regulated platforms like Coinbase carry the normal risks of any binary bet. Meme tokens carry an entirely different risk profile, one where the counterparty might literally be a bot deploying a rug pull contract.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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