Canada vs Qatar: World Cup Debut of Crypto Exchange Supporter Kraken

The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off on June 11 in Vancouver, with Canada facing Qatar in Group B. This is a pivotal match for both teams, as they compete to move forward in the tournament.

Canada is co-hosting the World Cup alongside Mexico and the United States, marking the first time three countries have shared hosting duties. The expanded format features 48 teams, up from the previous 32-team structure.

Kraken was announced as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on June 9, making it the first crypto exchange to hold this designation. Chiliz's CHZ token surged by as much as 28% ahead of kickoff due to a new fan-token burn mechanism tied directly to national team victories.

The Kraken partnership aims to enable fan engagement initiatives linked to the tournament. Chiliz introduced a World Cup-specific burn program that ties token burns to match victories for national teams, with up to 10% of treasury-held tokens potentially being burned per victory.