The 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t just the largest tournament in soccer history. It’s quietly become the most ambitious crypto integration experiment ever attempted in mainstream entertainment.

As quarterfinal matches kick off today, with Norway facing England at 5 p.m. ET in Miami and Argentina taking on Switzerland at 9 p.m. ET in Kansas City, billions of eyeballs are landing on a World Cup that runs on blockchain rails in ways no prior sporting event has managed.

Kraken, Avalanche, and Panini walk into a stadium

On June 9, 2026, Kraken became FIFA’s first-ever Official Crypto Exchange Supporter. The partnership includes activations across host cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico, putting a major crypto…