"Wow, this is very surprising news, but it's also interesting because I never thought of using nuclear energy."
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is considering using nuclear energy as a power source to power data centers amid growing demand in decentralized finance (DeFi), Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Vishnu Patankar said.
He added that Kraken intends to work with energy providers that can supply nuclear energy through small modular reactors (SMRs) that can be placed with data centers.
With 24-hour demands to run the business expecting massive crypto adoption over time, Kraken is looking at how nuclear power can improve its business in terms of power supply and latency.
Kraken's exploration of the idea comes amid many tech firms also exploring deals with nuclear operators to power the data centers needed to meet the demands of artificial intelligence (AI).
Nuclear backup means that Kraken can continue to operate even if there is a major disruption in the local energy supply, commented Patanker, adding that it can protect its energy resilience so that its team can offer products and services around the clock.
Although a final decision has yet to be made, Kraken will consider nuclear power as a follow-up option to other alternatives such as wind and solar depending on the weather and energy storage that can pose challenges.
There is no denying that nuclear power has a negative perception from many quarters, but it may be a more environmentally friendly solution as any excess energy generated by the reactor can be captured and used to power the data center cooling system.