Crypto traders can now invest in nuclear power, thanks to the launch of a novel, blockchain-based uranium trading marketplace that’s just got up and running on the Tezos network.
Thanks to the emergence of smaller, cleaner reactors, the nuclear power industry is fast undergoing a renaissance. Many experts believe that nuclear energy will play a critical role as the world transitions away from fossil fuels, and that means uranium is fast becoming a hot property.
With the launch of Urainium.io, a decentralized marketplace for trading U3O8, the main fuel used by nuclear power plants, it’s now possible for everyone to invest in the future of this industry. Uranium.io is a decentralized application on Etherlink, an EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain powered by Tezos Smart Rollups that makes it simple for anyone to buy and sell U308, commonly known as “yellowcake”.
It’s a significant development that could blow the doors to the uranium trading market wide open. Due to the rather controversial nature of this precious material, access to it is heavily restricted by governments. While yellowcake itself isn’t overly radioactive, it’s possible to process it into an altogether far more deadly substance known as U-235, which is the main material for making nuclear bombs like the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki all those years ago.
That’s why it hasn’t been easy to invest in, or trade uranium, certainly not for retail investors. Until now, the market was largely restricted to institutional traders, who could only participate through over-the-counter trades, with a minimum lot-size of 50,000 lbs. That means stumping up at least $4.2 million at today’s prices. For retail investors, the only way to get involved was through exchange-traded funds, which are less profitable.
Urainium.io changes that dynamic, making it possible for anyone to start buying or selling U3O8 in miniscule amounts. It’s working with one of the world’s largest uranium trading companies, Curzon Uranium, to make this happen. The uranium is represented by digital tokens on the Tezos blockchain, with each new token minted being collateralized by physical uranium deposits stored at the secure facilities of Cameco, a Canadian company that mines uranium ore.
The launch of Uranium.io highlights how tokenization is poised to revolutionize financial markets. Investors can now go to the dApp, connect their digital wallet, complete the KYC process and purchase tokens that represent a very small amount of this uranium for far less money than the traditional minimum lot size requirement. As such, Uranium.io is kicking down the traditional barrier to entry, and can potentially help to inject millions of dollars of fresh capital into the market.
There’s good reason to think that might happen, for the demand for yellowcake has been steadily increasing over the last few years. With more governments pursuing net-zero emissions targets, there’s an urgent need for more carbon-free power sources, which nuclear facilities can provide.
In addition, the rise of artificial intelligence technology and its enormous thirst for computing power has compelled cloud infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft to embrace nuclear power to meet the expected demand. They’ve taken concrete steps in that direction, with Microsoft announcing plans to reactivate the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island, Google contracting the services of Kairos Power, and Amazon making a substantial investment in X-Energy.
Tezos co-founder Arthur Breitman said real-world assets bring considerable advantages to investors, as they reduce friction and enable new economic arrangements that weren’t possible before.
“The launch of Uranium.io on Tezos is a perfect example of this, transforming a market previously restricted by massive lot sizes and OTC overheads into something accessible and composable,” Breitman said. “This is particularly exciting as nuclear power is experiencing a revival.”
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