How to Trade Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM) on Hyperliquid

What Is URNM

URNM is the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF, listed on NYSE Arca since December 2019. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in companies that devote half or more of their business to uranium mining, exploration, production, physical uranium holdings, or royalties. It carries a 0.75% expense ratio and currently holds 26 positions.

The portfolio is concentrated at the top. Cameco Corporation — the Western world's largest uranium producer — commands 21.12% of the fund. Sprott Physical Uranium Trust sits at 12.18%, acting as a direct proxy for spot uranium prices by holding physical U₃O₈. Uranium Energy Corp rounds out the top three at 11.53%, followed by Paladin Energy (5.66%), Denison Mines (5.47%), NexGen Energy (5.11%), and Kazakhstan's national producer Kazatomprom (5.05%). This mix gives URNM a blend of operating miners, development-stage projects, and physical uranium exposure that no single stock replicates.

Performance has been strong: as of late February 2026, URNM was up 30.83% year-to-date and 113.46% over the trailing year. However, the fund has pulled back roughly 28% from its highs amid broader market pressure on the uranium sector, creating a setup that traders are watching closely.

Why Uranium Matters Right Now

The uranium thesis in 2026 is built on a supply-demand mismatch that keeps getting wider. The nuclear industry requires approximately 185 million pounds of U₃O₈ annually, but producers are exercising supply discipline and new mines take years to bring online. Denison Mines just made its final investment decision on the Phoenix ISR mine in Saskatchewan — the largest undeveloped uranium project in the Athabasca Basin — but first production is not expected until mid-2028.

On the demand side, utilities contracted only 75 million pounds in 2025, just 50% of the 150 million pound replacement rate. That deferred purchasing is expected to flood into 2026. Meanwhile, AI data center buildouts are rewriting the electricity playbook: U.S. data center power consumption is projected to grow from 176 terawatt hours to as high as 580 terawatt hours by 2028, and nuclear is the only carbon-free baseload option that can scale to meet it.

Policy is stacking in uranium's favor. Trump's Section 232 proclamation formally classified reliance on foreign uranium as a national security risk, directing the Commerce Department to negotiate import controls and potential price floors within 180 days. The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $2.7 billion over the next decade to expand domestic enrichment capacity. Japan and the U.S. are negotiating a nuclear energy project worth up to $100 billion as part of Japan's $550 billion investment package, centered on Westinghouse reactors. Spot uranium surged past $100 per pound in January 2026 before settling back, while long-term contract prices hit $90 per pound — the highest since 2008.

The HIP-3 Perpetual

On Hyperliquid, URNM trades as a HIP-3 perpetual futures contract that tracks the value of one share of the ETF. HIP-3 perps are oracle-priced instruments that reference the underlying equity's market price, allowing traders to take long or short positions on the uranium mining sector without holding the ETF shares themselves.

The contract supports up to 10x leverage, which means a 5% move in URNM translates to a 50% gain or loss at max leverage. Given that URNM has already demonstrated a 113% one-year return and a 28% drawdown from highs in the same period, the underlying volatility is real — leverage amplifies both sides of that.

The current 24-hour volume on the URNM perp sits around $357,000. This is a thinner market compared to major crypto perps, which means larger positions may experience slippage. Traders should size accordingly and be aware that funding rates on HIP-3 contracts can diverge from the underlying when open interest is skewed heavily long or short.

Key Trading Considerations

A few things to keep in mind when trading URNM on Hyperliquid:

Concentration risk. The top three holdings — Cameco, Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, and Uranium Energy Corp — account for nearly 45% of the fund. A single earnings miss or production setback from Cameco can move the entire ETF disproportionately.

Catalyst calendar. The Section 232 negotiation window closes in July 2026. Any concrete indication of domestic price floors or import controls before then would be a major repricing event for U.S.-focused producers, which are well-represented in URNM's portfolio. The index rename to VettaFi Global Uranium Miners Index takes effect April 30, 2026 — no methodology changes, but worth noting.

Commodity beta. URNM is not a direct bet on the uranium spot price. It is a basket of equities whose earnings, cash flows, and market sentiment all mediate the relationship between U₃O₈ prices and the ETF's value. In a risk-off environment, uranium miners can sell off even if spot uranium holds steady — as the recent 28% drawdown from highs demonstrates.

Physical uranium as a floor. The 12.18% allocation to Sprott Physical Uranium Trust provides a partial hedge against miner-specific risk, since that position tracks physical uranium directly. This is unusual for a mining ETF and gives URNM a hybrid character that pure miner baskets lack.

Trading on Hyperliquid

Trade URNM on Hyperliquid with up to 10x leverage.