THORChain Mainnet Goes Live on 7 Networks; RUNE Spikes

The much-awaited network went live after nearly four years of development.

AccessTimeIconJun 24, 2022 at 8:12 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:24 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

THORChain's native blockchain went live on seven supported networks after nearly four years of development, developers said in a post on Thursday.

  • THORChain allows users to trade bitcoin (BTC) for any other supported asset without the use of bridges or wrapped assets. Bridges are protocols that rely on smart contracts to exchange coins from different blockchains between users.
  • The protocol currently supports swaps between seven major ecosystems: bitcoin, ether (ETH), binance coins (BNB), dogecoin (DOGE), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH) and rune (RUNE). Support for cosmos (ATOM) and avalanche (AVAX) is expected shortly, developers said.
  • Developers said the protocol’s focus after the mainnet launch would be on integrating with more decentralized exchanges (DEX) and exchange aggregators.
  • Community members can propose new additions or features on THORChain’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), but node operators ultimately approve which features are pushed live.
  • The previous network, called ChaosNet, saw some $9.2 billion traded over 3.4 million swaps from some 71,000 unique traders, developers said. The platform earned nearly $80 million in fees from such activity, with a $1.33 million swap being the largest on that platform.
  • THORChain’s native rune (RUNE) token surged some 40% in nearly 48 hours even as the broader crypto market remained stable. RUNE saw some profit-taking in early European hours Friday to trade at the $2.15 level at press time. The tokens are, however, down 89% since lifetime highs of over $20 in May 2021, CoinGecko data shows.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.