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The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest in tournament history with 48 teams spread across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, is barreling toward its semifinal stage. Quarterfinal matchups like France vs. Morocco and Spain vs. Belgium are dominating global attention this week.
Here’s what isn’t dominating attention: crypto. Not a single blockchain partnership, fan token initiative, or NFT campaign has surfaced in connection with this year’s tournament. For an industry that spent the 2022 Qatar World Cup plastering logos on everything that moved, the silence is deafening.
The tournament so far
The expanded 48-team format has delivered exactly what FIFA hoped: more games, more storylines, more eyeballs. The knockout rounds are now in full swing, with quarterfinal action on July 9 and 10 narrowing the field ahead of semifinal matches scheduled for July 14 in Dallas and July 15 in Atlanta.
France and Morocco are set for a rematch of their dramatic 2022 semifinal encounter. Spain and Belgium round out the marquee quarterfinal slate. The final is expected in mid-July, capping what has been a sprawling, continent-spanning spectacle.
From fan tokens to radio silence
Rewind to Qatar 2022. Crypto.com had its logo on referee jerseys. Algorand was FIFA’s official blockchain partner. Binance ran fan token campaigns. The industry was spending aggressively to plant its flag in the world’s most-watched sporting event, betting that global football audiences would translate into crypto adoption.
That bet didn’t exactly pay off. The 2022 bear market, combined with the collapse of FTX just weeks before kickoff, turned what should have been a victory lap into a cautionary tale. Fan tokens largely cratered in value after initial spikes. NFT collections tied to the tournament saw interest evaporate once the final whistle blew.
Fast forward to 2026, and the pendulum has swung completely the other direction. No cryptocurrencies, tokens, or blockchain-related initiatives have been reported in connection with the current tournament.
What this means for crypto investors
Sports entities appear to have grown wary of crypto partnerships after the reputational damage caused by associating with companies that subsequently imploded. Think FTX’s naming rights deal with the Miami Heat arena, which became a punchline almost overnight when the exchange collapsed.
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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