Exclusive interview with the Chief Executive Officer of the global cryptocurrency exchange.
World Football Championship 2026 has officially ended. From the starting whistle on the 11th to the final match on the 19th, the whole world watched the largest tournament in history: 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 localities in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
However, this World Cup has also become the first World Cup to be held in an era in which patients can become full-fledged participants in the economy, which is shaped by the emotions of each game day. Fan tokens, tokenized tuber ecosystems and blockchain-based digital collection assets have transformed serious patients into active participants in the sports world.
Few watch this transformation from such a close quarter as Vugar Usi, CEO of MEXC, a global cryptocurrency exchange that serves over 40 million people..
In an exclusive interview for the Football audience. ua we talked about the great potential of fan tokens, the infusion of the world championship into the market, the future role of cryptocurrency exchanges in sports finance, the long-term strategy of MEXC, and also about what all these changes mean for.
However, first of all, before discussing the markets, it is important to note: Vugar Usi was a football fan long before becoming a core worker of an international company.
“I believe that football is the same as the majority of people in the world, as in reality, if there are cordons,” he says. “I’m alive and have worked in dozens of countries, and the best way to find a good language with people in any part of the world is still lost in talking about football.”.
He is also well acquainted with the commercial side of the sports industry. Occupying one of the leading core plantations, Vugar Usi especially took part in negotiations for rich partnerships worth millions of dollars from Lionel Messi and LaLiga. At that time, these lands became one of the largest sports partnerships in the history of the cryptocurrency industry.
From a cryptocurrency exchange to a universal financial gateway, the decision of Vugar Usi to join MEXC was due to the unique history of the “organic growth” of the exchange. Against a wealth of competitors that relied on aggressive marketing and large-scale sports partnerships, MEXC has earned over 40 million members in more than 170 countries..
“When a company grows entirely through its employees, and not through heavy advertising campaigns or contracts with celebrities, this means that the product sells fairly,” explains Vugar Usi. — Koristuvachs come because it’s good for them, and not because they stink of advertising. This is the greatest and most powerful path to development.”.
Our main goal is to build on this foundation so that, by stretching the next two steps, we can bring MEXC to three or four leading global platforms. However, the most important part of this tank is due to the evolution of the market itself.
Vugar Usi appreciates that in just one or two years we will stop talking about “cryptocurrency exchanges”, “neobanks” and “traditional brokers” as other categories. The concept of everything exchange is emerging - a universal platform that provides access to various classes of assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokenized shares, synthetic assets such as gold and silver, as well as real assets - Real World Assets, or.
“We are collapsing until the world, in which cashiers will no longer have the opportunity to transfer money between different platforms,” says Vugar Usi. — MEXC becomes a single gateway to all financial instruments, saving liquidity, flexibility and low costs. Discover: one account, one interface and access to everything - from Bitcoin to tokenized Tesla shares and fan tokens of your favorite team.”.
Financial gateway, not an access controller. It's important to be honest. Our goal is to increase access to financial instruments that were previously available to non-institutional participants, and not to determine who deserves the opportunity to profit from them..
SportFi: more, not just hype The contribution to sports and finance, as SportFi, is one of the key areas of MEXC's growth strategy. For Vugar Usi, this is not a short-term trend, but a fundamental change in the way patients interact with their favorite teams.
The emergence of fan-tokens - digital assets based on the blockchain, which give power brokers the opportunity to take part in club decisions, seize exclusive wineries and trade assets that may lie due to sentiment around sports brands - has created a new.
“Fan tokens are becoming one of the main ways to attract new investors to the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” says Vugar Usi. — They first bring billions of sports patients to the crypto world. And this is the greatest onboarding that can only be seen: the person is already emotionally engaged, they support the club, and now they can become part of its economy. MEXC has unique capabilities, making it an entry point for such investors.”.
The Chiliz ecosystem, or CHZ, is one of the leading blockchain networks in the sports industry and has become one of the foundations of the SportFi industry that is being formed. Today we support over 70 fan token projects in 23 countries. Over the past few years, sports organizations have generated over $700 million in additional revenue from fan tokens, a completely new category of digital assets that have changed the way they interact..
Powerful fan tokens have already launched activities from the largest football brands in the world, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as the national teams of Argentina - $ARG, Portugal - $POR, Belgium,.
These initiatives have already brought millions of football fans to the Web3 ecosystem, creating new opportunities for interaction, wine extraction and digital asset development..
At the same time, Vugar Usi is not trying to overestimate the potential of this market. Fan tokens are emotional assets, and emotions can flow into the market in different ways. For example, the fan token of the Argentine national team rose sharply in price ahead of the final of the World Cup 2022, but fell sharply in the next day after the victory of Argentina, when traders began to fix profits.
“We are telling the truth to the Koristuvachs: fan tokens are volatile. The stinks are reflected not only by fundamental indicators, but also by mood, - every. — The relevance of the exchange lies in the light of koristuvach and insight. It is necessary to provide clear information, real liquidity and zero commissions so that patients do not spend money through additional expenses due to market volatility. A patient who understands that in Volodya will be lost in this ecosystem for fate, and not for a few years.”.
FIFA World Cup 2026: a seminal moment for SportFi The FIFA World Cup 2026 went from the 11th round to the 19th and became the largest tournament in history. According to Vugar Usi, this also became the seminal moment for SportFi, combining football, blockchain technologies and digital interaction with patients on one global stage.
“A number of important events suddenly arose at the borders of this tournament,” says Vin. — First of all, this world championship may be the last one for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - two football players whose very presence brings great respect in this world.
In another way, fan tokens became significantly more accessible after Chiliz expanded their coverage on Solana and Base, opening up the ecosystem to a new audience and additional liquidity.
Thirdly, in addition to the fan tokens of national teams, the mechanism for spitting out tokens associated with the victories of teams at the World Championships has already spread.”.
Ukraine: sports and blockchain This topic is of particular importance for Ukraine. Vugar Usi respectfully follow the Ukrainian market and kindly understand his particularity. In other words, Ukraine demonstrates one of the largest markets for the expansion of cryptocurrencies in neighboring Europe, so MEXC views this market as strategic.
“Ukraine is a special place for us. “We have great interest of Ukrainians in crypto-assets and fan-tokens,” says Vugar Usi. — We will ensure that they have the best trading minds, the greatest liquidity and the lowest commissions. Ukrainian traders are extremely active and technologically aware. For us, this is one of the most important markets in Europe."
Ukraine has already established itself as one of the pioneers in the transition to sports and cryptocurrencies.
MEXC is actively adapting its services to the needs of the local market:.
supports hryvnia - UAH - for P2P trading and an increase in the number of accounts, which allows you to deposit money without additional costs for conversion;
introduces the Ukrainian interface and the wholesome support of the Ukrainian language;
carry out special promotions and offer bonuses for new clients from Ukraine.
“We are not just present on this market - we will be a long-term newspaper with Ukrainian splendor,” adds Vugar Usi. — Those who Ukrainians continue to cry and are now deprived of one of the most active participants in the cryptocurrency economy, cry out with great respect. We want to entrust a long-term perspective, and not just under the hour of the world championship"
MEXC strategy: deep liquidity and zero commissions How MEXC positions itself before and after this historic world championship? According to Vugar Usi, the strategy is based on two key principles: deep liquidity and zero trading commissions.
“Zero commissions on the spot market will completely change the rules of the game, especially during the hour of such a tournament,” says Vugar Usi. — Patients can buy and sell tokens of their favorite teams without any commission costs. All capital is spent directly in trading. For Ukrainian traders, who often trade with small deposits, this is critically important.”.
For the average patient, liquidity may be an abstract concept. In practice, what it means is this: if Argentina scores a goal in the 90th century, ten thousand fans are expected to add $ARG at the same time, the price, according to the correspondent, may be similar to the price for which it actually.
“Low liquidity is most harmful to the very people for whom fan tokens were created: the most common patients who trade in real time under the influx of emotion,” explains Vugar Usi.
In addition, MEXC is reinforcing its role as a platform for the discovery of new assets, allowing investors to identify potential “pearls” in the SportFi sector even before they appear on other exchanges.
“We are one of the first to list your current projects. Our clients deny access to assets at early stages, when the growth potential can be found. “And immediately, after the World Championship, we have a huge interest in fan tokens - trading obligations are growing many times,” explains the CEO.
Maybutn: new horizons for SportFi Vugar Usi is optimistic about Maybutn, especially after the expansion of fan tokens on the new blockchain ecosystem.
“The expansion of Chiliz to Solana and Base was an important turning point,” says Vin. — Fan tokens are now available to millions of community members active in these ecosystems. Solana will ensure high transaction speed and low costs, while Base provides access to one of the largest blockchain networks targeted at local investors. Before the world championship, we realized how wider accessibility could create a new level of interest and activity around SportFi"
Chiliz announced the expansion of its ecosystem of fan tokens on Solana and Base in the year 2026, and this month the first tokens have become available in both markets. The decision brought fan tokens across the Chiliz Chain and created new options for trading, liquidity, decentralized banking and cross-chain interaction with patients.
Vugar also signifies increased respect for this sector on the part of institutional participants and regulators.
“Greater regulatory importance in the United States, an increase in the number of fan tokens and ongoing technological innovations are helping to transform SportFi into one of the most promising areas of cryptocurrency. Ukraine, as it continues to develop its approach to the regulation of digital assets, also has the potential to become an important center of this growth in Converging Europe.”.
FIFA also strengthened its blockchain strategy. FIFA Collect, the official platform for digital asset collection of the organization, has switched to specialized FIFA Blockchain, powered by Avalanche technology..
This EVM-rich infrastructure is fragmented to enable secure transactions, greater scale, greater capacity for cryptocurrencies and greater control over FIFA's long-term digital ecosystem.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 has ended, but its influx on SportFi can be felt long after the final whistle. This is not just a sports tournament, but an important global moment for the development of interaction between football, blockchain technologies, digital assets and hospitals.
Vugar Usi and MEXC are at the center of these changes, giving patients and traders access to the markets of fan tokens, the possibility of trading without commissions and deep liquidity.
For Ukraine this moment is especially significant. The country continues to collapse until clear regulation of cryptocurrencies, Ukrainian traders become less active, and MEXC expands its presence in the local market.
During the tournament, a match, a goal, a victory, or a win, the teams could be influenced by the mood of the players and the price of tokens, demonstrating at the same time both the possibilities and the volatility of this new sector.
“We are only going to get a lot more money,” Vugar Usi sums up. — Sports and blockchain are creating a new digital economy for patients around the world. MEXC, together with the Ukrainian team, intends to play an active role in its development"
Disclaimer: This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.. Trading cryptocurrencies is associated with significant risks.