First Blockchain Platform for Trading Tokenized Uranium Launched

Retail investors will, for the first time, gain direct access to purchasing uranium through the launch of a new decentralized trading platform within the Tezos ecosystem.

The Tezos blockchain team announced the launch of xU3O8, a platform for trading tokenized uranium. The platform leverages Etherlink, an EVM-compatible L2 solution powered by Tezos Smart Rollups. This initiative was launched in partnership with Curzon Uranium, a trading company with over $1 billion in uranium trade volume, and Archax, the first U.K.-regulated crypto exchange.

Through the platform, users can purchase triuranium octoxide, known as U3O8. This material, produced from mining and milling uranium ore, is widely used in nuclear fuel production. The physical product will be stored at facilities managed by Cameco, a leading Canadian nuclear fuel producer, which will also provide proof of reserves.

The authors note that the xU3O8 project aims to democratize access to the uranium market for retail investors. In traditional markets, uranium trading required a minimum lot of 50,000 pounds (~22.7 tons), costing over $4 million. This made direct investments inaccessible to retail investors, who were limited to investing in exchange-traded funds (ETF). The xU3O8 platform enables the purchase of smaller quantities of the asset with no minimum purchase requirement.

The launch of this new platform aligns with the broader trend of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. For instance, German FinTech company 21X recently announced plans to launch Europe’s first regulated exchange for tokenized financial instruments in Q1 2025. As of mid-November 2024, the RWA tokenization market exceeded $13 billion in total volume.