Key Takeaways
- • Onyx Odds raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Payward (parent company of Kraken, NinjaTrader, and Bitnomial), valuing the sports prediction platform at $220 million less than one year after exiting beta.
- • The company has achieved nearly one million users and industry-leading retention metrics on less than $8 million in prior venture funding, positioning it as one of the largest prediction platforms within its first operational year.
- • Onyx Odds will integrate with Payward Services' fully licensed US derivatives stack, enabling the platform to embed crypto trading capabilities and extend its prediction markets offering without independently assembling vendors, licenses, and operational infrastructure.
- • Founded in 2025, Onyx Odds operates as a social sports prediction platform enabling users to engage with sports outcomes through exchange-traded instruments, representing a market-driven approach to sports betting and prediction markets.
- • The strategic integration with Payward accelerates Onyx Odds' competitive positioning by leveraging established regulatory licenses and B2B infrastructure, reducing time-to-market and operational complexity.
Summary
Onyx Odds, a rapidly scaling social sports prediction platform, announced a $20 million Series A funding round led by Payward, the parent company behind crypto exchange Kraken, trading platform NinjaTrader, and derivatives platform Bitnomial. The round values the company at $220 million, a significant valuation achievement reached less than one year after the platform exited beta testing. Founded in 2025, Onyx Odds has demonstrated exceptional early traction, attracting nearly one million users and achieving industry-leading retention rates on less than $8 million in prior venture capital investment—a metric that underscores strong product-market fit within the prediction markets category.
The company's core offering enables users to engage with sports outcomes through exchange-traded instruments, positioning itself as a market-driven alternative within the sports prediction and betting landscape. This mechanism differs from traditional sportsbooks by utilizing exchange-based trading dynamics, appealing to users seeking transparency and pricing mechanisms driven by supply and demand rather than fixed odds set by operators.
As part of the investment, Onyx Odds will integrate with Payward Services, the B2B infrastructure platform powering Kraken and Payward's broader product ecosystem. This strategic partnership grants Onyx Odds access to Payward's fully licensed US derivatives stack and enables the embedding of crypto trading functionality directly within the Onyx application. The integration represents a significant operational advantage, allowing Onyx Odds to extend its market leadership without requiring years of independent vendor selection, regulatory licensing, and operational capability development—a substantial cost and time savings compared to building these components from scratch.
Leul Dadi, founder and CEO of Onyx Odds, characterized the investment as validating both the platform's strength and the company's market vision. The funding round reflects growing institutional capital interest in prediction markets and crypto-native sports betting infrastructure, particularly among established fintech operators seeking exposure to high-growth consumer segments within the gambling and prediction markets category.
The company's core offering enables users to engage with sports outcomes through exchange-traded instruments, positioning itself as a market-driven alternative within the sports prediction and betting landscape. This mechanism differs from traditional sportsbooks by utilizing exchange-based trading dynamics, appealing to users seeking transparency and pricing mechanisms driven by supply and demand rather than fixed odds set by operators.
As part of the investment, Onyx Odds will integrate with Payward Services, the B2B infrastructure platform powering Kraken and Payward's broader product ecosystem. This strategic partnership grants Onyx Odds access to Payward's fully licensed US derivatives stack and enables the embedding of crypto trading functionality directly within the Onyx application. The integration represents a significant operational advantage, allowing Onyx Odds to extend its market leadership without requiring years of independent vendor selection, regulatory licensing, and operational capability development—a substantial cost and time savings compared to building these components from scratch.
Leul Dadi, founder and CEO of Onyx Odds, characterized the investment as validating both the platform's strength and the company's market vision. The funding round reflects growing institutional capital interest in prediction markets and crypto-native sports betting infrastructure, particularly among established fintech operators seeking exposure to high-growth consumer segments within the gambling and prediction markets category.
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