World Cup prediction markets reached $20B

The 2026 FIFA World Cup generated $20 billion in blockchain prediction-market volume from January through the tournament’s end, Chainalysis reported on July 30. 

The analytics firm said more than 400,000 wallets participated, while $5.7 billion was traded during the five-week event.The report also tracked $24 million in stablecoin-powered trading through FIFA Collect, the football body’s official digital collectibles platform. The data show how betting, collectibles and ticket access converged on public blockchain infrastructure during the tournament.

World Cup prediction markets dominated onchain activity

World Cup-related markets accounted for about 63% of all prediction-market volume during the competition. Daily activity began near $50 million in January, exceeded $100 million during busy pre-tournament periods and moved toward $250 million after matches began on June 11.

Volume topped $300 million on the final, when Spain defeated Argentina, Chainalysis said. The $20 billion total covers trading from January, including qualifying and pre-tournament markets. It should not be read as betting conducted only during the tournament.

The figures fit a broader expansion in event contracts. Binance Research separately reported that monthly prediction-market notional volume rose 86% from January to $51.6 billion in June. It said Kalshi and Polymarket represented 92% of June’s total, although its market-wide measurement differs from Chainalysis’ World Cup-specific dataset.

U.S. and China led globally attributed volume

Chainalysis attributed the most activity to the U.S. and China, followed by Canada, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Participation came from every continent except Antarctica.

However, the firm cautioned that its proprietary geolocation method “may carry uncertainty” when VPNs, mixers or privacy tools obscure wallet locations. The rankings therefore represent Chainalysis’ attribution, not verified residence data for every participant.

However, World Cup demand pushed daily prediction-market volume sharply higher during June. In addition, Kalshi gained tournament exposure through ADI Predictstreet, FIFA’s official prediction-market partner.

Chainalysis identified about 3,700 participating wallets with traceable illicit interaction histories, representing less than 1% of the total. It reported at least $5.4 million flowing 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.

The U.K. designated Huobi Global on May 26 under its Russia sanctions regime and clarified that HTX falls within those restrictions through ownership. The European Union later added HTX to a transaction-ban list, with the measure scheduled to apply from August 23.

These findings measure earlier wallet interactions and fund flows. They do not prove that each flagged wallet committed an offense through its World Cup trades.

FIFA Collect connected digital assets with tickets

FIFA Collect let users trade digital collectibles and obtain rights connected to match tickets. FIFA says more than 100,000 fans gained stadium access through its Right-to-Ticket products. Chainalysis traced $24 million in payments to a key FIFA Collect smart-contract wallet from May 2025 through the tournament.

The firm estimated that FIFA received at least $6 million from secondary transactions after applying the platform’s 5% share. It found negligible direct illicit exposure among FIFA Collect users, which “may be a result of FIFA’s robust KYC practices,” according to Chainalysis. That explanation is an assessment, not a controlled test.

As crypto.news reported, FIFA moved its collectibles platform to a purpose-built, Avalanche-based blockchain in 2025. The next test is whether ticket-linked collectibles and prediction-market users remain active after the World Cup. Regulators and platforms will also face pressure to strengthen sanctions screening, market surveillance and settlement controls as event-contract volumes expand.