Hassan Maishera
Uranium.io, an entirely new marketplace for trading uranium powered by Tezos technology, is live.
In a press release shared with Cryptowisser, the team said Uranium.io is launching as a decentralized application (dApp) designed to eliminate barriers to an asset class that is powering the AI revolution.
The team added that support for the Uranium platform is provided by Curzon Uranium, a world-renowned 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.
According to the development team, demand for uranium has grown steadily in recent years as 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. 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, access to the uranium 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.
This implies that retail access to uranium has only been available through ETFs, which are dependent on management efficacy in tracking the underlying price and listing availability.
Uranium.io is now tokenizing the physical uranium and moving ownership on-chain. Thus, the barriers to entry presented by minimum lot size requirements have been eliminated, which has 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.”
According to the team, 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.
Users can now benefit from several compelling features, including connecting a wallet and purchasing 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.
Furthermore, physical U3O8 purchased via the dedicated decentralized app will be maintained at a regulated depository owned and operated by Cameco, 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.
