Is uranium-backed crypto on the horizon?

Madison Metals is considering another attempt at tokenizing their uranium holdings in a bid to profit more off the commodity

article-image

Parilov/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Madison Metals, a junior mining company based in Toronto, Canada, is said to be exploring a launch of uranium-backed cryptocurrency after its NFT attempt fell short.

The company first tried to launch uranium-backed NFTs in April but had to postpone the project. Despite the setback, Madison’s CEO Duane Parnham said that a revised offering is fast approaching.

“We’re probably weeks away from making an official announcement. We’re that close,” Parnham told Mining Weekly in an article published Friday.

Parnham further explained that Madison’s development team will be able to list a token backed by futures contracts for the company’s uranium.

Essentially, Parnham said, this allows retail investors to get involved in commodities trading. 

“Other than buying uranium directly from a miner like Madison on a sales contract basis, the only other way ‘Joe Retail’ could play in uranium as a commodity was through either a participation agreement or through the purchase of futures,” Parnham said.

Madison Metals is a publicly traded company with a market cap of about $6 million. The projects it lists on its website are mining operations in Kenora, Canada, and Namibia. 

Tokenization of various assets has been getting a lot more attention as of late. Tokenized real estate and tokenized bank deposits are all the rage among traditional finance participants. Even a Picasso painting was brought onto the blockchain.

Updated Jul. 5, 2023 at 9:39 am ET: Changed headline and context to reflect that Madison aims to launch a fungible uranium futures-backed cryptocurrency, not NFTs.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (5).png

Research

Outside of stablecoins, the value of tokenized assets sits below $20B, dominated by the following asset classes: private credit, US Treasuries, commodities, institutional alternative funds, stocks, non-US government debt, and corporate bonds. In the coming months, we see the greatest opportunities in the tokenization of illiquid markets, particularly private equity. However, the successful integration of offchain assets into blockchain ecosystems relies heavily on clear and consistent regulatory frameworks, with purpose-built infrastructure to support it.

article-image

The MicroStrategy founder understood digital scarcity long before Bitcoin, and it’s a story of bubbles, brokers and a “monster bull run.”

article-image

DAS panelists shared strong venture capital takeaways, from how big a raise should be to the role VCs play in the industry

article-image

Titan Exchange CEO Chris Chung says Titan bests Solana’s incumbent DEX aggregator Jupiter on price 80% of the time

article-image

The SEC’s newest statement on PoW mining adds further clarity, though a commissioner points out its limits

article-image

Markets react to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at yesterday’s FOMC meeting

article-image

At DAS, the US president noted he’s called upon Congress to enact “simple, common-sense rules” for stablecoins and market structure