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Nuclear energy is back in fashion, and a new blockchain-based marketplace aims to hop on the trend bringing investment access in the yellow ore to retail investors in a tokenized form.
London-based Tezos ecosystem development firm Trilitech launched Uranium.io on Tuesday to offer tokens backed by physical <a href="https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?Formula=u3o8&NoIon=on&Units=SI" target="_blank">uranium oxide U3O8</a>, also known as "yellowcake."The app was built on Etherlink, an EVM-compatible layer-2 network on top of Tezos (XTZ). The project recruited U.K.-regulated digital asset firm Archax as custodian for the underlying assets and creating the tokens. The physical metal is stored and maintained in a regulated depository at Cameco, one of the world's largest uranium producers.
Tokenized real-world assets is a rapidly growing corner of the crypto markets, with crypto firms and global financial institutions bringing traditional investments such as commodities to blockchain rails. They do so for cheaper transaction costs, faster settlements and to reach a broader investor audience. The digital tokens represent ownership of the underlying asset. For example, global bank HSBC <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/27/hsbcs-gold-token-goes-live-for-retail-investors-in-hong-kong" target="_blank">introduced</a> tokenized gold to retail investors in Hong Kong earlier this year.
Uranium is a crucial metal for energy production fueling nuclear power plants with rising demand. The market for uranium, however, is fragmented with trading concentrated on over-the-counter desks and retail traders' options to invest in the metal has been limited, Arthur Breitman, director of TriliTech and co-founder of the Tezos blockchain, told CoinDesk in an interview. Moving ownership representation to blockchain rails reduces frictions and makes it easier for average investors to participate, he added.
"This is particularly exciting as nuclear power is experiencing a revival,” Breitman said.
It's not the first effort to bring trading with the yellow ore onto blockchain rails, though. Last year, a project called Uranium3o8 <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/11/21/crypto-industry-goes-nuclear-with-uranium-linked-tokens" target="_blank">launched a uranium-linked token</a> on decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap backed by forward sales agreement with a mining company. However, the token decoupled from physical uranium prices and eventually fell to near zero a few months after launch, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/uranium3o8" target="_blank">CoinGecko data</a> shows, underscoring the difficulties to create a tokenization structure that works.
To ensure that the token's value is anchored to the physical metal, Uranium.io accumulated some 1.6 million ounces of uranium oxide at Cameco, Breitman said. Meanwhile, commodity trading firm Curzon Uranium also provides access to primary markets for the ore.