Helene is a U.S. markets reporter at CoinDesk, covering the US economy, the Fed, and bitcoin. She is a recent graduate of New York University’s business and economic reporting program.

We’re only a few days into the FIFA World Cup in Qatar but fans are already betting on who will make it far in this year’s tournament – and right now, Saudi Arabia seems to be a popular choice in the crypto industry.

Sales for the Saudi Arabia-themed non-fungible token (NFT) collection called “The Saudis” increased 387% on Tuesday following the country’s surprise 2-1 win against Argentina, which is considered one of the best soccer teams in the world.

Argentina’s fan token (ARG), in contrast, dropped 21% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $5.44 as of press time, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The South American team, led by Lionel Messi, was the clear favorite going into Monday’s match.

CoinDesk - Unknown

Argentina’s fan token, ARG, dropped 21% after the country’s loss against Saudi Arabia in the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Monday. (CoinMarketCap)

Crypto tokens have become popular among gamblers in this year’s World Cup. Chiliz (CHZ), the native token of the Chiliz blockchain that powers Socios.com, the largest sports fan token creator platform, surged 39% in the week before the start of the competiton as fans basked in a fresh wave of hype.

However, the hype died down quickly and other fan tokens, including those of Portugal (POR) and Brazil (BFT) all declined after Monday and underperformed both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

“Big events often present big opportunities for traders,” Priyansh Patel of Delphi Digital wrote on Monday. “Some market participants begin positioning a few weeks before the actual event in order to take profits when the event occurs.” The World Cup, he wrote, was no exception and fan tokens “experienced hefty corrections just two days before the event began.”


Sign up for Crypto for Advisors, our weekly newsletter defining crypto, digital assets and the future of finance.

By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk product updates, events and marketing and you agree to our terms of services and privacy policy.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our

privacy policy,

terms of use,

cookies,

and

do not sell my personal information

has been updated

.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a

strict set of editorial policies.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of

Digital Currency Group,

which invests in

cryptocurrencies

and blockchain

startups.

As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of

stock appreciation rights,

which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG

.

Helene is a U.S. markets reporter at CoinDesk, covering the US economy, the Fed, and bitcoin. She is a recent graduate of New York University’s business and economic reporting program.

Helene is a U.S. markets reporter at CoinDesk, covering the US economy, the Fed, and bitcoin. She is a recent graduate of New York University’s business and economic reporting program.