The first week of July 2026 brought a wave of crypto partnerships integrating digital assets into mainstream finance, payments, and global sports. Kraken became FIFA's first crypto sponsor at the 2026 World Cup, Stripe joined 140+ firms backing the Open USD stablecoin, and BlackRock expanded its tokenization collaboration with Ethena. These announcements reflect a common industry theme: collaboration over competition. From Robinhood's tokenized stock trading with Bitget Wallet to Binance's custody-separated trading via Anchorage Digital, the week demonstrated how traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure are converging through strategic partnerships.
Kraken Becomes FIFA's First Crypto Sponsor at 2026 World Cup
Kraken's partnership with FIFA became official as the 2026 World Cup entered its Round of 32 on July 2. The exchange became the first crypto platform to hold an official sponsorship role at the tournament. While fans watched Spain take on Austria, Portugal face Croatia, and Switzerland meet Algeria, crypto markets reacted in real time. Fan tokens linked to national teams saw trading activity surge as results and tournament expectations drove speculation. Portugal's token attracted attention ahead of its knockout clash, while Argentina's remained one of the most actively traded assets throughout the competition. Much of that activity flowed through the Chiliz ecosystem and its Socios platform, which powers fan tokens for both clubs and national teams. Prediction markets emerged as one of the tournament's biggest crypto success stories, with billions of dollars wagered on match outcomes.
Cross River Bank Powers X Money Rollout for Premium+ Users
X has officially begun rolling out X Money to a limited group of Premium+ users. The new service introduces a digital wallet, peer-to-peer payments, a Visa debit card, and cash balances that can earn yield. For now, everything runs on traditional banking infrastructure rather than cryptocurrency. The backbone of the service is Cross River Bank, Ripple's long-time banking partner. The bank manages customer deposits, payment processing, card issuance, and the X Cash Sweep Program, which offers eligible users up to $10 million in FDIC insurance. Because Cross River has worked with Ripple since 2014 and has used XRP Ledger technology for certain payment services, the announcement quickly sparked speculation across the XRP community. At this stage, neither X nor Cross River has announced plans to integrate XRP or any other cryptocurrency into X Money. The launch also follows X's expansion of Smart Cashtags, giving users richer real-time charts for assets including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Dogecoin, and several major stocks.
Robinhood and Bitget Wallet Enable Tokenized Stock Trading on Robinhood Chain
Robinhood Crypto and Bitget Wallet have teamed up to bring tokenized stocks to a wider audience, giving millions of users access to traditional equities through blockchain infrastructure. The partnership makes Bitget Wallet one of the first self-custodial wallets to integrate Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network designed for tokenized real-world assets. Once the rollout is complete, Bitget Wallet's 90 million users will be able to trade more than 90 stock tokens directly from their wallets without opening a brokerage account. The lineup includes major companies such as NVIDIA, Apple, and Google, alongside tokenized index products like the Invesco QQQ. Robinhood Chain, built using Arbitrum Orbit technology, is also open to third-party developers, exchanges, and lending platforms. Robinhood said the launch reflects its long-term goal of making financial markets more accessible, highlighting that "financial system should work for everyone" as the guiding principle behind expanding into onchain infrastructure.
Chainalysis Signs MoU with South Korean Police for Crypto Crime Training
Chainalysis has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) on June 10, formalizing a partnership aimed at improving the country's ability to investigate crypto-related crime. Although the two sides have worked together for several years, the agreement establishes a more structured collaboration focused on training, certification, and blockchain investigation techniques. Under the partnership, KNPA investigators will gain access to Chainalysis' educational programs and practical investigative tools designed to help trace illicit fund flows across multiple blockchain networks. Chainalysis Country Director Ryan Kwon emphasized that the initiative extends beyond concerns surrounding North Korean cyber activity, describing "building institutional capability" as the broader objective. The agreement covers everything from state-sponsored attacks to scams and fraud targeting everyday investors. State-affiliated crypto theft hit $578 million in April alone, driven largely by attacks on Kelp DAO and Drift Protocol, and CrowdStrike's research put 2025's total state-linked losses at $2 billion, a 51% jump from the year before. Chainalysis helped South Korean police unwind an international hacking ring last September that had stolen roughly $30 million.
Binance Adds Anchorage Digital to Triparty Banking Network
Binance announced on June 30 that it's bringing Anchorage Digital into its institutional Triparty Banking network. Anchorage becomes the first crypto exchange partner plugged into Atlas, its institutional settlement platform, giving eligible clients a way to trade on Binance's liquidity without depositing assets there directly. Institutions pledge collateral — crypto, cash, yield-bearing USD accounts, or tokenized money market funds like BlackRock's BUIDL, Circle's USYC, and Franklin Templeton's iBENJI — while Anchorage holds it in segregated custody and Binance extends trading access against it. Binance said the goal is to "give institutional clients a custody-separated way to trade," cutting the need to pre-fund exchange accounts and letting collateral keep working instead of sitting idle. Binance first piloted this triparty structure in 2023 and has widened it since, adding Swiss francs as eligible collateral last November. Anchorage brings a federal bank charter from the OCC, the first crypto-native firm to get one. Binance is waiving fees on the service through the end of 2026 before moving to tiered pricing in 2027.
BlackRock Expands Ethena Partnership with $100M BUIDL Liquidity Facility
BlackRock is deepening its relationship with Ethena by expanding support for the protocol's stablecoins across its Aladdin platform. The partnership is designed to give institutional investors faster access to tokenized U.S. Treasury products while reducing reliance on conventional market hours. At the center of the collaboration is BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), one of the largest tokenized Treasury funds on the market. Through Securitize, Ethena will provide a $100 million liquidity facility that allows qualified investors to seamlessly exchange BUIDL fund tokens for stablecoins such as USDC and USDtb. The process enables capital to move around the clock instead of waiting for traditional settlement windows. The integration also brings Ethena's stablecoins, including the yield-generating USDe and reserve-backed USDtb, more deeply into Aladdin's ecosystem. Because USDtb holds reserves primarily invested in the BUIDL fund, the partnership creates a closer link between tokenized government securities and blockchain-native liquidity.
Stripe, Visa, Mastercard Back Open USD Stablecoin with 140+ Partners
A broad coalition of payment companies, blockchain networks, and crypto firms has come together to support Open USD (OUSD), a new partner-governed stablecoin designed for business payments and onchain finance. Led by Open Standard, the initiative already includes more than 140 companies, with notable backers such as Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock, Ripple, Aave, Crypto.com, Polygon, Solana, Stellar, and Ledger. Unlike many existing stablecoins, OUSD is built around a shared governance model. Rather than being controlled by a single issuer, Open Standard will oversee the project while distributing much of its revenue back to participating partners. The goal is to create open infrastructure that businesses can use for payments, settlement, and other financial services across multiple blockchains. Stripe went furthest, committing to make Open USD the default stablecoin for businesses transacting on Stripe, with that feature "coming soon." Mastercard framed its involvement around the idea that stablecoins need "trusted networks, broad participation, and industry collaboration" to actually work at scale, while Aave said the project reflects how many companies are now moving financial services on-chain entirely.
FAQ
What did Kraken announce at the 2026 World Cup?
Kraken became FIFA's first crypto sponsor at the 2026 World Cup, with the partnership becoming official as the tournament entered its Round of 32 on July 2.
What is Robinhood Chain and how does it work with Bitget Wallet?
Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 network designed for tokenized real-world assets, built using Arbitrum Orbit technology. Bitget Wallet's 90 million users will be able to trade more than 90 stock tokens directly from their wallets without opening a brokerage account once the rollout is complete.
What is Open USD and who backs it?
Open USD (OUSD) is a partner-governed stablecoin designed for business payments and onchain finance, backed by more than 140 companies including Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock, Ripple, Aave, Crypto.com, Polygon, Solana, Stellar, and Ledger.
