FIFA has earned over $6 million from NFT ticket resales for the 2026 World Cup, with significant participation from collectors.
The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) has realized at least $6 million in revenue from the resale of digital tickets for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. This income stems from a 5% commission retained by FIFA on transactions conducted through its NFT platform, FIFA Collect. Analysts from Chainalysis observed that this accumulated revenue is regularly transferred to a major cryptocurrency exchange.
Chainalysis tracked the financial flows starting in May 2025, revealing that $24 million was processed through the platform's main wallet from collectors. This NFT scheme allowed fans an alternative means to secure entry to matches, as FIFA allocated tickets randomly, and purchasing a digital item granted direct access to a seat. Reports indicate that over 100,000 fans utilized this method to attend games.
Insights into FIFA's NFT Marketplace
FIFA Collect operates on the Avalanche network, where Chainalysis examined its smart contracts. They discovered a single address that manages primary sales, secondary transactions, and seller payments, with FIFA's commission automatically deducted from each sale.
The accumulated funds are periodically moved to an intermediary address before being sent to an exchange, where they are likely converted into fiat currency. The organization has benefited from strong engagement from collectors, with both new and experienced users reselling digital items more often than retaining them.
Demographics of Purchasers and Revenue Sources
Demand has primarily come from fans of national teams qualified for the tournament, generating $17.6 million, while $6.6 million originated from international buyers. Most of the funds were traced back to wallets with prior transaction histories, suggesting that attracting new cryptocurrency users was only moderately successful, according to Chainalysis.
The process for obtaining tickets included stringent requirements, such as identity verification and proof of funds, which were manually reviewed. This rigorous vetting likely discouraged fraudulent participants, resulting in very few questionable funds entering FIFA Collect.
In contrast, open prediction markets showed significantly higher activity levels. Since January 2026, trading volumes related to the World Cup have skyrocketed to $20 billion, with $5.7 billion occurring within the tournament's five-week period, involving approximately 400,000 wallets.
However, around 3,700 betting addresses interacted with potentially dubious entities, with the HTX exchange being a notable source, facing sanctions from both the UK and EU in late May. At least $5.4 million was traced from this exchange to participant wallets, with an additional $2 million linked to fraudulent activities and over $800,000 associated with stolen funds.
It is important to note that FIFA encountered potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland in October 2025 related to its NFT initiatives.
