Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup equalizer spotlights crypto’s growing footprint in global football
Ronaldo’s penalty for Portugal arrives as Binance NFTs, fan tokens, and Kraken’s FIFA sponsorship bring crypto deeper into the beautiful game
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byEditorial Team
Jul. 2, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo buried a penalty to equalize for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, sending coach Roberto Martínez into a visible celebration on the touchline. Martínez has defended Ronaldo’s full participation in the tournament, pointing to the forward’s fitness and leadership as reasons to keep him on the field for every minute. At an age when most players have long retired, Ronaldo remains the centerpiece of Portugal’s campaign
Ronaldo’s Binance partnership and the NFT play
Ronaldo has maintained a strategic partnership with Binance dating back to 2022. The collaboration has produced four NFT collections under the CR7 ForeverZone brand, offering token-gated experiences that give fans exclusive access tied to the footballer’s brand
Unofficial Ronaldo-themed meme tokens have exhibited rapid market-cap spikes based on nothing more than rumors and match highlights, entirely independent of any endorsement from the player himself
Fan tokens and Kraken’s FIFA milestone
Portugal’s national team operates its own fan token, POR, built on the Chiliz and Socios.com ecosystem. The token lets supporters participate in blockchain-based voting on certain team decisions
Kraken announced on June 9, 2026, that it would serve as FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the 2026 World Cup. That makes it the first crypto exchange to hold such a designation in the tournament’s history
What this means for investors
Fan tokens remain thinly traded compared to major crypto assets, meaning price swings can be sharp and liquidity can evaporate quickly. Meme tokens riding Ronaldo’s name carry even more risk, given their complete lack of official backing or utility beyond speculation
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
