Payward Leads Onyx Odds Series A to Fuel $220M Prediction Market Expansion

Quick Summary

Payward has led a Series A funding round for Onyx Odds, valuing the sports prediction platform at $220 million. This strategic investment integrates Onyx into the Payward Services infrastructure, leveraging licensed US derivatives stacks and crypto trading capabilities to scale exchange-traded sports instruments for nearly one million users.

How Does Onyx Odds Scale Prediction Markets?

Onyx Odds provides a market-driven approach to sports outcomes, allowing users to trade sports events like financial instruments. By integrating with Payward Services, Onyx bypasses the traditional multi-year hurdle of securing individual licenses and vendor contracts. Instead, they utilize a fully licensed stack that includes a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and a Designated Contract Market (DCM).

• $220M Valuation achieved in under two years.
• 1 Million Users reached within the first year of operation.
• $8M Seed Funding previously raised before this Series A.

What Does Payward Services Provide to Partners?

The partnership highlights the power of multi-asset infrastructure in the fintech space. Payward Services acts as the B2B backbone for Kraken, offering partners a plug-and-play solution for embedded crypto trading and regulated derivatives. This allows operators like Onyx to focus exclusively on user experience and product innovation rather than regulatory compliance and backend technical debt.

"Prediction markets are one of the fastest-growing emerging categories in financial services," said Mark Greenberg, Head of Payward Services. "We are the only US platform that brings a CFTC-registered FCM, a CFTC-designated DCM and a global crypto exchange under one roof, making the full stack available through Payward Services. Onyx is the kind of operator that knows what to do with that foundation, and we're investing to help them scale it."

Why is the Sports Prediction Market Growing?

The convergence of sports data marketplaces and decentralized finance has created a surge in demand for transparent, exchange-traded instruments. Onyx Odds has demonstrated industry-leading retention by treating sports outcomes as a legitimate asset class. With the backing of Payward Services, the platform is positioned to dominate the prediction market sector by offering deeper liquidity and a more robust regulatory framework than offshore competitors.

"This investment marks a major milestone for Onyx Odds and validates the strength of both our platform and our vision," said Leul Dadi, founder and CEO of Onyx Odds. "Payward brings a deep expertise and allows us to scale more efficiently while continuing to deliver a best-in-class experience for our users."

FF NEWS TAKE:

This move by Payward is a masterstroke in vertical integration. By backing Onyx Odds, Payward isn't just investing in a startup; they are stress-testing their Payward Services B2B stack in the high-growth prediction market sector. As traditional betting and financial trading continue to merge, providing the regulated plumbing for these platforms is where the real long-term value lies. This definitely moves the needle for institutional-grade prediction markets.