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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is barely underway and the US Men’s National Team is already putting on a show. Christian Pulisic delivered a precise assist for Folarin Balogun to hammer home the second goal against Paraguay.
But while the USMNT is making noise on the pitch, it’s eerily quiet in one specific corner of the business side. The team has zero crypto sponsorships and zero fan token deals, even as digital asset companies pour money into the tournament around them.
Crypto firms are all over this World Cup
Kraken secured the title of Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the tournament on June 9, just days before the opening match. The exchange is focused on fan engagement activations throughout the event, which runs from June 11 to July 19.
Chainlink became the first official prediction market partner in World Cup history, deploying its oracle technology across all 104 matches in the tournament. It pulls in real-world match data and feeds it to smart contracts so outcomes can be verified and settled automatically.
Algorand powers several FIFA initiatives, including the FIFA+ Collect NFT platform and digital ticketing systems.
Chiliz, the company behind the Socios fan token platform, provides tokens for various national teams that let holders vote on minor team decisions and access exclusive content.
The USMNT’s conspicuous absence
Despite all this activity, the US national team hasn’t signed any crypto partnerships. No exchange deals. No fan tokens through Chiliz or anyone else. Nothing.
Crypto companies have collectively spent around $565 million on sports sponsorships. The USMNT, co-hosting a World Cup on home soil with a roster featuring globally recognized names like Pulisic, would seem like an obvious target for crypto sponsors looking for visibility. Pulisic himself has some tangential digital asset exposure through Panini’s blockchain-based NFT trading cards, but that’s a Panini initiative, not a team-level crypto deal.
Balogun has no notable crypto connections. The absence is especially notable when you compare the USMNT to other national teams that have embraced fan tokens and crypto sponsorships as revenue streams.
What this means for investors watching crypto and sports
The $565 million already flowing into sports-related crypto deals suggests the industry has made a strategic bet that sports fandom is one of the best on-ramps for mainstream adoption. Fan tokens give casual users a reason to interact with a blockchain for the first time. Prediction markets built on Chainlink’s infrastructure create real utility. NFT collectibles tap into the same psychology as traditional trading cards.
Chainlink’s oracle network is processing data for 104 matches. Algorand’s ticketing and NFT systems are handling real users at scale.
Investors watching Chiliz’s CHZ token should note that the USMNT’s absence from the fan token ecosystem limits the platform’s exposure to one of the tournament’s most engaged fanbases. If US Soccer eventually signs a fan token deal, either with Chiliz or a competitor, that would represent a significant expansion of the addressable market.
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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