FIFA prediction market partner ADI Predictstreet faces wash trading questions over $108M in trades

ADI Predictstreet, the official prediction market partner of FIFA for the 2026 World Cup, is facing questions about the authenticity of its trading activity. An investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that roughly $108 million of the $167 million traded on the platform through late September passed through cryptocurrency wallets that appear to be linked to the company itself. That suggests a large share of the volume may not have come from independent customers.

According to the analysis, 795 wallets accounted for 99% of trading activity from late August. These wallets were reportedly funded from a single cryptocurrency address, which also collected the platform's transaction fees, and they traded almost exclusively with one another. The pattern was first identified by three Harvard University students who examined public blockchain records. Analytics firm Solidus Labs corroborated their findings, and academics who study anomalous trading also questioned whether the reported volume reflected genuine demand.

The activity first drew attention in July, during the World Cup, when two wallets processed more than $81 million in transactions across hundreds of markets. After the tournament ended, trading slowed sharply, and the network of 795 wallets made up nearly all remaining activity. The pattern is consistent with wash trading, in which linked accounts trade among themselves to make a market look busier than it is. The evidence so far does not prove intentional manipulation, and the owner of the wallets has not been identified.

ADI Predictstreet is licensed for gambling in Gibraltar. Gambling commissioner Andrew Lyman said a preliminary review found no breach of local rules against self-trading, and he argued that regulators had found no harm to consumers. The platform has previously drawn scrutiny after reports that it paid more than $150 million for exclusive advertising rights tied to the 2026 World Cup. It is reportedly linked to International Holding Company, a conglomerate chaired by Sheik Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, though IHC has denied that it controls Predictstreet.

The company launched in April with the aim of extending prediction markets to major sporting events. In June it introduced a soccer-focused service, and in April it announced a partnership with sports streaming platform DAZN to bring predictions into live broadcasts. The latest findings could undermine those ambitions by casting doubt on how much independent participation the platform has attracted. They also raise the question of whether FIFA's market integrity measures detected the unusual trading patterns.