A lending vault that accepts tokenized physical Uranium as collateral went live Thursday on DeFi aggregator Oku, marking what industry participants describe as the first instance of a strategic physical commodity being integrated into decentralized finance loan infrastructure.
London-based Uranium.io announced the launch of xU3O8-based lending on DeFi aggregator Oku, powered by Morpho, a lending protocol with more than $10 billion in deposits.
The integration allows holders of xU3O8, the world’s first token representing beneficial ownership of physical uranium, to secure USDC loans without selling their underlying asset.
The uranium that backs xU3O8 is stored in facilities operated by Uranium producer Cameco, with custody and trading support from Curzon Uranium and Archax, the UK’s first registered crypto service provider.
“This integration represents a significant step in uranium market maturation,” said Ben Elvidge, Product Lead at Uranium.io. “We’re bringing DeFi lending capabilities to a commodity that has historically been trapped in opaque over-the-counter markets with limited liquidity.”
By using uranium as collateral, DeFi protocols are expanding beyond financial instruments into commodities central to global energy security.
The move comes amid a widening supply-demand gap in Uranium, global production of about 155 million lbs lags demand near 197 million lbs, as nuclear energy regains strategic importance in decarbonization plans.
According to institutional research cited by Uranium.io, 97 percent of professional investors would consider Uranium exposure if access were simplified, highlighting why tokenized models may gain traction.
Meanwhile, the integration raises operational questions that will be tested as the vault attracts deposits.
Liquidation mechanisms for physical commodity collateral differ substantially from digital asset liquidation, particularly when the underlying asset requires physical custody, transportation, and specialized market access for sale.
Unlike liquid cryptocurrency markets where collateral can be sold instantly on exchanges, physical uranium trades in specialized OTC markets with different settlement timelines and liquidity characteristics.
Additionally, whether DeFi infrastructure can scale to handle custody, insurance, and regulatory complexity for multiple commodity types simultaneously will determine if this model extends beyond uranium to broader commodity markets.
If the model proves viable, it could challenge traditional commodity market structure by providing retail investors direct access to physical commodity exposure and liquidity management tools previously available only through futures contracts, mining stocks, or institutional OTC markets.