The 2026 FIFA World Cup generated $20 billion in blockchain prediction-market volume from January through the tournament’s end, with over 400,000 wallets participating. World Cup-related markets accounted for about 63% of all prediction-market volume during the competition. Daily activity began near $50 million in January and exceeded $300 million on the final match.
Geographic Participation
The most activity came from the U.S. and China, followed by Canada, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Participation came from every continent except Antarctica. However, Chainalysis cautioned that its proprietary geolocation method may carry uncertainty when VPNs, mixers, or privacy tools obscure wallet locations.
Illicit Activity
Chainalysis identified about 3,700 participating wallets with traceable illicit interaction histories, representing less than 1% of the total. At least $5.4 million flowed from Huobi or HTX into wallets that later used World Cup markets. Scam-linked wallets accounted for about $2 million, while stolen-fund exposure exceeded $800,000.
FIFA Collect
FIFA Collect, the football body’s official digital collectibles platform, saw $24 million in stablecoin-powered trading. Chainalysis estimated that FIFA received at least $6 million from secondary transactions after applying the platform’s 5% share. The firm found negligible direct illicit exposure among FIFA Collect users, which may be a result of FIFA’s robust KYC practices.
