Onyx Odds lands $20 million Series A led by Kraken parent Payward
DeFi & Yields ·
The social sports prediction and betting platform closed the round at a $220 million valuation as Payward expands beyond crypto trading into prediction markets.
Onyx Odds, a social sports prediction and betting app, has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Payward, the parent company of Kraken, according to The Block. The round values Onyx Odds at $220 million and places the company in a competitive prediction markets space that has drawn growing interest from crypto-native firms.
The deal is one of several corroborating reports describing Onyx Odds as a social sports prediction and betting platform, with the funding structured as a Series A led by Payward. Coverage of the round has also circulated on wublockchain.xyz, reflecting attention to the deal beyond a single outlet, with six distinct sources tracking the story.
The investment comes as Payward pursues a broader expansion strategy well outside its core exchange business. The company has separately agreed to acquire derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, a deal reported by CoinDesk that would give Payward U.S. derivatives licensing and clearing capabilities. Payward has also agreed to acquire stablecoin payment infrastructure firm Reap Technologies for $600 million, a transaction that values Payward itself at $20 billion.
Taken together, the Onyx Odds investment, the Bitnomial acquisition, and the Reap Technologies deal point to Payward building out infrastructure and market access across trading, payments, and now prediction markets in a short span. Leading a $20 million Series A in a betting and prediction app is a smaller transaction relative to the multi-hundred-million-dollar acquisitions, but it extends Payward's reach into consumer-facing prediction products rather than purely exchange or payments infrastructure.
What remains unclear from the available reporting is how Onyx Odds' product will be integrated, if at all, with Kraken's existing offerings, and what role Payward will play beyond serving as lead investor. Terms of the Series A beyond the $20 million raised and $220 million valuation, including other participating investors, have not been detailed in the available coverage. How the Bitnomial and Reap Technologies deals, once finalized, might intersect with Payward's prediction markets push is also not yet specified.