What Is THORChain?

1. What Is THORChain?

THORChain is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol that allows users to swap native assets across different blockchains—like Bitcoin for Ethereum—without needing wrapped tokens or centralized intermediaries. Built on Cosmos SDK and powered by Tendermint, THORChain provides seamless and permissionless asset exchanges, solving blockchain interoperability in a decentralized, secure, and trustless way.

2. Why THORChain Was Created

THORChain was created to overcome the limitations of centralized exchanges and wrapped token bridges, which are prone to custodial risk, censorship, and security breaches. It solves the problem of cross-chain interoperability by enabling native asset-to-asset trading without reliance on third parties. This empowers users with full asset control while reducing friction in multi-chain DeFi transactions.

3. How THORChain Works

1. Users initiate a swap through a THORChain-integrated interface like ThorSwap or Asgardex.
2. The user sends their asset (e.g., BTC) to a secure THORChain-managed vault.
3. THORChain calculates the trade using pool prices and liquidity availability.
4. The desired asset (e.g., ETH) is sent directly to the user’s address.
5. Liquidity providers earn fees from the swap transaction.
6. Validator nodes bonded in RUNE manage the network and vaults.

4. Key Features of THORChain

• Native cross-chain swaps without wrapping or bridging
• Non-custodial and permissionless trading environment
• Incentivized liquidity provisioning with yield rewards
• ChaosNet: live decentralized mainnet with support for multiple chains
• Impermanent loss protection for liquidity providers
• Decentralized validator nodes ensure network security

5. Who Can Use THORChain?

• Retail traders looking to swap assets across blockchains
• DeFi users seeking decentralized liquidity and yield opportunities
• Developers building cross-chain dApps or integrating swap functionality
• Institutions managing multi-chain crypto portfolios
• Advanced users operating validator nodes for rewards

6. What Is the $RUNE Token?

$RUNE is the native utility token of THORChain and plays a central role in the protocol’s economic and security model. It is paired with all assets in liquidity pools, used for network fees, and serves as the bonding mechanism for validator nodes. $RUNE also facilitates governance and incentivizes network participants, ensuring seamless swap routing and system stability.