The June 9, 2026 appointment adds to FIFA’s wider tournament tech stack, which also includes AI-assisted officiating, Algorand-based collectibles and Avalanche ticketing pilots.
FIFA has appointed Kraken as its first-ever Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the 2026 World Cup, expanding the tournament’s digital infrastructure as it also rolls out upgraded officiating technology and blockchain-linked fan and operations tools. The June 9, 2026 sponsorship gives Kraken visibility across the event and adds a major crypto exchange to one of global sport’s biggest commercial stages. The tournament is also adopting an upgraded Video Assistant Referee system with semi-automated offside technology, using AI-driven 3D player tracking from 16 optical cameras and standard broadcast feeds to flag offsides by as little as 10 centimeters, compared with the previous 50-centimeter threshold. The International Football Association Board has confirmed a broader VAR review scope covering corner kicks, second yellow cards, mistaken identity and set-piece fouls, while keeping the standard of correcting clear and obvious errors. FIFA’s centralized VAR operation room in Dallas will support matches across host venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Beyond Kraken, FIFA has been building out a broader crypto and blockchain layer around the event. FIFA+ Collect, its platform for historical NFT collectibles, was built in partnership with Algorand, while Avalanche technology is being piloted for blockchain-based ticketing solutions during the tournament. The potential use of Chainlink oracles for live match data has also been identified as part of the event’s digital infrastructure. Vancouver is also advancing an Indigenous partnership framework for the tournament. A Memorandum of Understanding signed in September 2024 and ratified by the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the City of Vancouver, and the Province of British Columbia provides for C$6 million to each Host Nation for legacy projects and infrastructure, totaling C$18 million, including a planned Squamish Nation youth soccer field in West Vancouver.