Kraken lands official crypto sponsor deal for 2026 World Cup

Kraken announced on June 9 that it signed on as the official crypto exchange supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The deal puts the exchange's branding in front of billions of viewers across the three host nations during the tournament.

The first high-profile match with Kraken branding will be Brazil vs Morocco on June 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Group C also includes Haiti and Scotland. Brazil and Morocco are the group's top seeds.

Crypto sports sponsorships come with a complicated past. FTX paid for naming rights to a Miami arena in 2021 and collapsed in late 2022. Crypto.com's deal for the Los Angeles arena did not protect it from a bear-market volume drop. Kraken is a different case – the exchange has operated since 2011 and built a compliance-first reputation.

FIFA has experimented with blockchain ticketing and NFT collectibles in earlier tournaments. An official crypto exchange partnership suggests the governing body sees digital assets as a fixture in its commercial ecosystem. Kraken did not disclose financial terms.

The 2026 tournament runs June 11 to July 19. Brazil vs Morocco airs on FOX and FOX One in the US, BBC in the UK.