About Thorchain

Our Mission

Thorchain was built on a single foundational belief: users should be able to move value freely across any blockchain without relying on a centralized intermediary. The protocol enables true financial sovereignty — your assets remain native and under your control throughout every swap.

By eliminating bridges and wrapped tokens, Thorchain removes the most common points of failure and vulnerability in cross-chain DeFi. Every swap settles natively on the destination chain, meaning you receive real BTC, real ETH, and real assets — not synthetic representations.

How Thorchain Works

Thorchain uses a network of independent nodes that collectively manage cross-chain vaults. These nodes run the Thorchain protocol software, bond RUNE as collateral, and cooperatively sign transactions across all supported blockchains using threshold signature schemes (TSS).

Liquidity providers add assets to symmetric pools paired with RUNE — the native settlement token of Thorchain. When a user initiates a swap, the protocol routes the trade through these pools, converting the input asset to RUNE and then to the desired output asset in a single atomic process.

• Continuous Liquidity Pools (CLPs) using the slip-based fee model for sustainable liquidity incentives
• Threshold Signature Schemes (TSS) for distributed key management across validator nodes
• Economic security enforced by RUNE bonding — nodes must bond 2× the value they secure
• Streaming swaps for large trades, reducing price impact by splitting orders over multiple blocks
• Savers Vaults for single-asset yield on native Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other assets

Supported Chains & Assets

Thorchain natively supports the most important blockchain networks in the ecosystem. Users can swap assets across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Cosmos, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and more — with new chains continuously added through governance.

• Bitcoin (BTC) — the original and most secure swap via native UTXO
• Ethereum (ETH) and all major ERC-20 tokens
• BNB Chain, Avalanche C-Chain, and their token ecosystems
• Cosmos Hub (ATOM), Osmosis (OSMO), and IBC-enabled chains
• Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• RUNE — the native asset powering all Thorchain settlement

Decentralized Governance

Thorchain is governed by its community of node operators, liquidity providers, and RUNE holders. Protocol upgrades, new chain integrations, and parameter changes are managed through an on-chain governance process where the network's economic stakeholders vote with their bonded or pooled RUNE.

This ensures that Thorchain remains aligned with the interests of its users and cannot be unilaterally changed by any single entity — including the original development team. The protocol is designed to be unstoppable and censorship-resistant by construction.

Security & Trust Model

Thorchain prioritizes security through economic incentives rather than trusted third parties. The protocol has undergone multiple independent security audits and maintains a continuous security program. Its open-source codebase is publicly verifiable by anyone.

• All nodes must bond RUNE worth 2× the assets they help secure — misbehavior results in automatic slashing
• No single node ever holds a complete private key — TSS requires a threshold of nodes to cooperate
• Churning system regularly rotates nodes to prevent cartelization and long-term key exposure
• Open-source protocol with public audit reports from leading blockchain security firms
• Continuous bug bounty program incentivizing responsible disclosure

The RUNE Token

RUNE is the native utility and settlement token of the Thorchain network. It serves multiple critical functions within the protocol ecosystem, creating deep alignment between all participants.

• Settlement: All swaps route through RUNE, making it the universal base pair for every trade
• Bonding: Node operators must bond RUNE to participate in securing the network
• Liquidity: LPs pair their assets 50/50 with RUNE in all liquidity pools
• Governance: RUNE holders participate in protocol governance decisions
• Rewards: Block rewards and swap fees are distributed to nodes and LPs in RUNE

Ecosystem & Integrations

Thorchain powers a growing ecosystem of wallets, interfaces, and applications. Developers can access the protocol's liquidity through open APIs and SDKs, enabling seamless cross-chain swaps within any application without managing the underlying complexity.

Major wallets and DeFi aggregators have integrated Thorchain liquidity, making native cross-chain swaps accessible to millions of users. The protocol's permissionless design means anyone can build on top of Thorchain without requiring approval or licensing.