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Lionel Messi missed what could have been a match-winning opportunity in the 92nd minute of Argentina’s 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Switzerland on July 12. The moment sent shockwaves through football, but the crypto market barely flinched.
What happened in Kansas City
Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, reached the quarterfinals after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the round of 16. Messi was central to that earlier win, keeping alive a campaign built on the expectation that the 39-year-old could somehow guide his nation to consecutive titles.
Against Switzerland, the stakes were as high as they get in knockout football. And with the match hanging in the balance deep into stoppage time, Messi had the kind of chance that has defined his career. He didn’t convert.
The fan token market that forgot to show up
Messi once signed a $20 million partnership with Socios.com, the fan token platform that became synonymous with football’s crypto era. He appeared in their marketing campaigns. He invested in Sorare, the fantasy football platform built on blockchain technology.
During the 2022 World Cup, fan tokens for teams like Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal saw wild price swings tied to match results. A last-minute goal could spike a token’s value. A shocking elimination could crater it.
Fast forward to 2026, and there’s no meaningful crypto activity tied to this quarterfinal. No fan token surges. No NFT drops commemorating Messi’s miss. No blockchain-based prediction markets dominating the conversation.
What happened to the sports-crypto connection
Socios.com signed deals with dozens of clubs across Europe and South America. Sorare attracted hundreds of millions in venture capital. The pitch was compelling: blockchain could transform how fans engage with their teams, creating a new economy around sports fandom.
Regulatory scrutiny in the EU and UK made sports-crypto partnerships increasingly complicated. And the broader crypto winter of 2022-2023 washed out a generation of speculative projects that depended on hype rather than utility.
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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