Anchorage Digital expands custody to Etherlink and tokenized uranium

Anchorage Digital has added institutional custody support for Etherlink and seven assets issued on the Tezos layer 2 network, including xU3O8, a token representing physical uranium.

Anchorage Digital said institutional clients can now hold xU3O8, wrapped XTZ, stXTZ, USDT, USDC, USDSM and wrapped Ether through Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., using the same custody infrastructure available for their existing digital asset holdings.

The integration places the Etherlink assets inside segregated custody accounts at the federally chartered bank. Anchorage said clients can use existing policy controls and operational processes without setting up a separate custody arrangement for the network.

xU3O8 stands out among the newly supported assets because it gives holders exposure to physical uranium through a blockchain based token. The commodity has traditionally been traded through specialist intermediaries, with long settlement periods and minimum transaction sizes that limit access for many investors.

Tokenization changes parts of that process by allowing the asset to be transferred and settled onchain. Anchorage said xU3O8 can give allocators uranium exposure through the same operational setup used to manage other digital assets, with settlement measured in minutes instead of weeks.

“Institutions are not short on interest in tokenized real-world assets. They are short on places to hold them that satisfy a risk framework,” Anchorage Digital CEO and co-founder Nathan McCauley said.

McCauley said adding Etherlink allows institutions considering tokenized uranium or onchain dollars to custody the assets at a federally chartered bank while applying controls already used across the rest of their portfolios.

Anchorage Digital Etherlink custody brings xU3O8 into its banking infrastructure

xU3O8 represents physical U3O8, commonly known as yellowcake uranium, and operates through Uranium.io on Etherlink.

As crypto.news previously reported, xU3O8 represents physical uranium held in custody, with the token designed to make the commodity transferable and tradable onchain. Tezos co-founder Arthur Breitman presented uranium as the first part of a plan to bring a larger range of commodities, including metals, onto blockchain infrastructure.

Uranium.io had already used tokenization to lower some of the barriers associated with traditional uranium transactions. Its model allows eligible users to gain fractional exposure instead of dealing with the large minimum transaction sizes commonly found in the physical uranium market.

The platform runs on Etherlink and uses smart contracts to handle transactions and custody transfers. Uranium.io opened uranium access through the network with physical uranium procured by Curzon Uranium and stored by Cameco, according to information released when the service was introduced.

Anchorage’s support moves custody of the corresponding token into infrastructure built specifically for institutional clients. The company said unfamiliar collateral can face increased examination from auditors, fund administrators and lenders, putting additional requirements on the institution responsible for custody.

Demand for uranium has been tied to rising electricity requirements from data centers, electrification and other sources of power consumption. Anchorage pointed to nuclear energy’s role in electricity generation as part of the backdrop for institutional interest in uranium, while describing access to the physical commodity as relatively difficult compared with more established financial assets.

Etherlink gives tokenized assets an EVM compatible settlement layer

Etherlink is an EVM compatible layer 2 network built on Tezos, allowing developers to use Ethereum based tooling while transactions ultimately settle to Tezos layer 1.

The network combines relatively low transaction costs with fast finality and access to a settlement layer that has operated for years. Those features have been used by projects developing tokenized real world assets as well as decentralized finance applications.

Hardware wallet provider Ledger expanded native support for the network earlier in 2026, giving users access to Etherlink through Ledger Wallet. The integration covered applications including Curve, Morpho, Uniswap and Uranium.io, allowing users to interact with Etherlink assets through self custody.

Anchorage is taking a different route by putting supported Etherlink assets inside its institutional custody framework.

Ben Elvidge, head of alternative assets at Trillitech, said tokenized real world assets need custody infrastructure that institutional investors can use before they can move onto institutional balance sheets.

“Working with Anchorage Digital means the funds and asset managers evaluating assets on Etherlink can custody them at a federally chartered bank, which removes the single biggest obstacle we hear from allocators,” Elvidge said.

Beyond xU3O8, the initial integration covers several assets used across the Etherlink ecosystem. WXTZ is the wrapped version of Tezos’ native XTZ token, while stXTZ represents staked XTZ in liquid token form. USDT, USDC and USDSM provide dollar denominated stablecoin exposure, and WETH represents wrapped Ether.

Anchorage has been expanding institutional onchain access

Etherlink support follows a series of integrations through which Anchorage Digital has brought more onchain assets and services into its institutional infrastructure.

Earlier in September, Frgmnt partnered with the company to make its fUSD stablecoin and sfUSD staking product available through Anchorage. Institutional clients gained the ability to hold, mint, stake, unstake and redeem the assets without creating a separate custody arrangement.

Frgmnt mints fUSD against USDC and deploys its backing across selected onchain lending markets. Users seeking the rewards generated by those strategies can stake fUSD for sfUSD. The Frgmnt integration with Anchorage placed those functions inside the custodian’s existing operational environment.

Anchorage expanded its Ethereum staking services in July through an integration with Lido. Institutional customers were given the ability to mint and burn wrapped staked Ether while keeping assets within Anchorage’s custody environment, allowing custody, governance, reporting and settlement to remain on the same platform.

Around the same period, Binance added Anchorage as a custody partner for institutional trading. The arrangement lets clients trade on the exchange while pledged crypto and U.S. dollar collateral remain in segregated custody through Anchorage’s Atlas platform, separating custody and collateral management from trade execution.

Stablecoins have become another part of the company’s institutional business. Anchorage began providing custody for CADD, a regulated Canadian dollar stablecoin issued by Tetra Digital Group, in May. CADD is backed one to one by Canadian dollars held at a licensed Canadian trust company.

Anchorage Digital Bank operates under a federal charter and is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Its institutional platform covers services including custody, staking, trading and settlement.

Existing Anchorage clients can access the newly supported Etherlink assets immediately, according to the company. Institutions can use their current Anchorage Digital relationship and custody setup to hold the seven supported assets, including xU3O8, without establishing a separate Etherlink custody workflow.