Uranium.io, an entirely new marketplace for trading uranium and powered by Tezos technology, is live. Launching as a decentralized application (dApp), uranium.io is purpose-built to eliminate barriers to an asset class that is powering the AI revolution and which has, until now, only been accessible to institutional investors.
Support for the platform is provided by Curzon Uranium, a uranium trading company that has traded more than $1 billion worth of uranium since its inception, and Archax, the first registered crypto exchange in the UK.
Demand for uranium has been growing steadily in recent years, driven by two major factors. Firstly, governments worldwide are pursuing net-zero emissions targets that require carbon-free power sources, making nuclear energy an attractive option. This demand has been further supercharged by recent substantial investments from major technology companies grappling with the enormous energy requirements of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Big tech companies are going nuclear
Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all taking significant steps into nuclear power, with Microsoft planning to use a reactivated Three Mile Island reactor, Google contracting with Kairos Power, and Amazon investing $500 million in the X-Energy Reactor Company to meet its growing AI energy demands.
Despite this, and unlike other precious metals such as gold, silver, and palladium which are readily available to retail audiences, access to this market has been restricted to institutional investors and has taken the form of over-the-counter trades with minimum lot sizes of 50,000 lbs and an associated purchase price of c. $4.2 million.
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Retail access to uranium has been only available through ETFs which are dependent on management efficacy in tracking the underlying price and listing availability. By tokenizing the physical uranium and moving ownership on chain, it becomes possible to remove the barriers to entry presented by minimum lot size requirements that have prevented people from accessing this rapidly growing asset class.
Commenting on the launch of Uranium.io, Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos, said, “Real world assets on chain are compelling when they meaningfully reduce friction or enable new economic arrangements. The launch of uranium.io on Tezos is a perfect example – transforming a market previously restricted by massive lot sizes and OTC overhead into something accessible and composable. This is particularly exciting as nuclear power is experiencing a revival.”
The uranium.io dApp on Etherlink, EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain powered by Tezos Smart Rollups, will serve as an intuitive tool for users to discover U3O8, commonly referred to as “yellowcake” and an important intermediate step in the production of nuclear fuel.
Buy physical uranium
Users worldwide will benefit from a number of compelling features, including the ability to connect a wallet and purchase physical uranium. Following an intuitive onboarding and Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process, users of the dApp will also experience many of the inherent advantages of decentralized platforms, including reduced counterparty risk, as the use of smart contracts automates trade settlement and custody transfers, eliminating the need to rely on traditional intermediaries who could default on their obligations.
Physical U3O8 purchased via the dedicated decentralized app will be maintained at a regulated depository owned and operated by Cameco TSX:CCO, one of the largest global providers of uranium. This provides an additional layer of transparency, with holders of U3O8 benefitting from institutional-grade services provided by platform partners highly regarded in their fields.
Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization is emerging as a growth-driver for the blockchain sector, with analysis from Van Eck tracking the market capitalization of institutional tokenized assets from near zero to over $300 million from January to September of 2023.
Earlier this year, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, began to tokenize the assets in its portfolios, a move that was heralded by many as a significant development for the providers of decentralized ledger and tokenization technologies.
