Valued at $220 million, Onyx Odds captures the U.S. sports prediction market with its Sweepstakes model.

Written by: Grok, Doubao

Edited by: Saoirse, Foresight News

In June 2026, Onyx Odds announced the completion of a $20 million Series A financing round led by Payward (the parent company of Kraken), with a valuation reaching $220 million. This round of financing not only marks the capital's ongoing confidence in the sports prediction sector but also injects strong momentum for Onyx Odds to expand from a social sports platform to a broader prediction market and cryptocurrency trading field.

In less than two years, Onyx Odds has emerged from the beta stage, accumulating nearly a million users, with a monthly nominal trading volume exceeding $2 billion, achieving efficient growth on an initial funding of less than $8 million.

Rise of the Social-Driven Sports Prediction Platform

Onyx Odds is essentially a social sports prediction platform where users predict the outcomes of sporting events using virtual currency (Onyx Coins), covering major leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and MLB, as well as a wide range of sports like tennis and soccer. It operates legally in over 30 states in the U.S. using a Sweepstakes model, avoiding the strict regulatory barriers of traditional sports betting, while emphasizing social attributes — users can view friends' picks, combine multiple entries, and participate in community discussions.

The platform is not limited to sports but is gradually expanding into political, cultural, and financial event predictions. The official website shows that users can enter the market within seconds, supporting real-time and pre-game selections, and forming a "Team Picks" feature in conjunction with the player community. This design makes predictions no longer an isolated gambling act, but an experience enriched with social entertainment and knowledge sharing. In the future, Onyx plans to integrate cryptocurrency trading features, further blurring the lines between sports predictions and financial markets.

Unlike traditional sports betting, Onyx Odds resembles a social version of a "prediction market": users trade event contracts' outcomes, with prices reflecting collective wisdom rather than merely betting against a bookmaker. This concept is similar to platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, but Onyx places greater emphasis on broad participation and viral dissemination through a mobile-friendly interface and social elements.

Founder's Background and Early Journey

Onyx Odds was founded by Leul Dadi in 2024 (some sources indicate its official launch was in 2025) and is headquartered in New York. Dadi is a Harvard University graduate with a background in quantitative trading institutions such as Jane Street, providing a solid foundation in finance and data analysis for his entrepreneurial venture in the prediction market space.

Early on, the company received support from investors like Xfund, completing early financing of about $8.3 million around 2025. With efficient user acquisition and retention strategies, Onyx rapidly grew after its launch, quickly becoming one of the popular players in the Sweepstakes social sports betting field. While the team was small (about 8 people in its early days), it focused on product iteration and community building, reflecting a typical Silicon Valley lean startup approach.

Dadi's vision is to transform daily discussions among sports enthusiasts into tradable prediction contracts, while introducing cryptocurrency elements that allow ordinary users to experience the fun of "trading world events." This synergy of financial tools and mass entertainment is the core distinguishing factor of Onyx from pure gambling apps.

Strategic Expansion: Financing, Partnerships, and Market Layout

The highlight of the latest financing round is the strategic partnership with Payward. In addition to funding, Onyx will access the infrastructure of Payward Services, utilizing its CFTC-licensed derivatives stack to enhance its prediction market capabilities, and plans to embed cryptocurrency trading within its app. This will assist Onyx in transitioning from pure social predictions to more mature financialized products.

As early as November 2025, Onyx established an exclusive partnership with Polymarket to launch CFTC-regulated sports event contracts, leveraging Polymarket's global infrastructure to expand user reach and liquidity. This collaboration marks Onyx's official entry into the more regulated prediction market space, paving the way for subsequent growth.

Currently, Onyx Odds provides services in over 30 states (with slight differences between sports predictions and the Sweepstakes model), and plans to launch cryptocurrency features in July 2026. User growth is strong, with the platform reportedly serving over 800,000 users, featuring thousands of reviews on the App Store with overall positive feedback, despite occasional mentions of minor technical issues on the new platform, community engagement remains high.

Recent actions include continually optimizing mobile experience, expanding into both sports and non-sports markets, and attracting new users through promotions (such as a $10 deposit bonus). These advancements indicate that Onyx is transitioning from "rapidly validating product-market fit" to "scaling and diversifying" stage.

Competition and Differentiation Advantages

The prediction market and social sports betting sectors have seen a surge in popularity in recent years. Polymarket and Kalshi are leading players, with the former excelling in crypto-native and global events, while the latter focuses on compliant event contracts; traditional sports betting giants like Fanatics and DraftKings are also exploring elements of prediction markets. Additionally, numerous Sweepstakes platforms like Fliff, Legendz, and Thrillzz present direct competition.

The differentiation of Onyx Odds lies in its focus on social + sports + low barriers to entry. It is not just a trading platform but also a community hub, allowing users to easily share picks, challenge friends, and create network effects. In terms of regulation, the Sweepstakes model enables rapid expansion in most U.S. states, while partnerships with Payward and Polymarket provide a backing for future compliant expansion.

Challenges also exist: liquidity in the prediction market often falls short for non-popular events, user education costs are high; cryptocurrency integration must deal with volatility and regulatory risks; and compared to traditional betting, the "realism" of virtual currencies may require time to cultivate. Moreover, the entire industry faces potential risks from tightening regulations.

Regardless, Onyx's low upfront burn rate and high retention rates indicate that its product aligns with the demands of young users for a triad of entertainment, finance, and social engagement. In the context of increasingly rich sports data and the rise of AI-assisted predictions, there remains significant space in this sector.

Outlook: From Sports Prediction to Global Event Trading Platform

The recent financing of Onyx Odds reflects the ongoing capital interest in the prediction market sector. By starting from social sports, quickly accumulating users through the Sweepstakes model, and then extending into compliant prediction markets and cryptocurrency fields through partnerships with Payward, Polymarket, and others, its path is clear and representative.

However, the transition also faces numerous challenges. How to maintain liquidity in non-popular events, balance entertainment attributes with financialization risks, and ensure compliant expansion amidst potentially tightening regulatory environments are all issues Onyx Odds needs to resolve moving forward. The genuine interest among young users in socializing and predicting is present, but transforming this into a stable business model will still require time for validation.

Overall, Onyx Odds is at a critical development stage. Whether it can grow from a phenomenal sports prediction app into a broader global event trading platform will depend on the speed of product iterations, the quality of user retention, and the changes in external regulatory and market environments. In this still-early stage of the prediction market sector, Onyx's story is worth ongoing observation.