What is Thorchain

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About THORChain

  • THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that allows users to exchange cryptocurrency assets across different networks without losing custody of their assets.
  • The native utility token is RUNE, used for platform governance and security.
  • THORChain was funded through an initial DEX offering (IDO) in July 2019 and launched its single-chain chaosnet in April 2021 and multi-chain upgrade in April 2021, with Mainnet going live in June 2022.

Founders and Development

  • THORChain has no CEO, founder, or directors, with development organized via Gitlab and nodes deciding which codebase to run.</li

About THORChain: A Decentralized Cross-Chain Liquidity Protocol

Introducing THORChain (RUNE): A Revolutionary Decentralized Exchange

THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that seamlessly facilitates the exchange of cryptocurrency assets across a diverse range of networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, while ensuring users retain full custody of their assets throughout the process.

In the THORChain ecosystem, users can seamlessly exchange one asset for another in a trustless, permissionless environment, eliminating the need to rely on traditional order books to source liquidity. Instead, market prices are dynamically maintained through the ratio of assets in a pool, leveraging the principles of automated market makers.

The native utility token of the THORChain platform is RUNE, which serves as the foundation of the ecosystem’s monetary system. Additionally, RUNE plays a pivotal role in platform governance and security, as it is integral to THORChain’s Sybil resistance mechanisms. Notably, THORChain nodes are required to stake a minimum of 300,000 RUNE to participate in the platform’s rotating consensus process, thereby ensuring the integrity of the network.

THORChain was successfully funded through an initial DEX offering (IDO), which debuted on the Binance DEX in July 2019. Following this, its single-chain Chaosnet was launched in April 2021, swiftly followed by the multi-chain upgrade in the same month. As of June 2022, the Mainnet is now fully operational.

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The Visionaries Behind THORChain: Unveiling the Founders

According to an official representative of THORChain, the platform operates without a CEO, founder, or directors. Instead, the protocol’s further development is orchestrated via Gitlab, where nodes serve as the ultimate arbiters, determining which codebase to implement.

Currently, the project’s contributors remain largely anonymous. According to an official representative of THORChain, this anonymity is intended to “safeguard the project and facilitate its decentralization.”

A tweet from the project offers insight into the rationale behind maintaining a project with an anonymous team, as quoted below:

“Developers labor on behalf of the Nodes, crafting code that incrementally enhances the system’s value proposition.”

Nodes operate on behalf of liquidity providers, ensuring the security of assets and maintaining a persistent online presence.

Liquidity providers inject capital into the market, making it readily available for Swappers and arbitrageurs.

Notably, swappers and arbitrageurs contribute to economic activity by paying fees.

Unveiling the Unparalleled Attributes of THORChain

THORChain facilitates seamless native asset settlement, empowering users to effortlessly swap Bitcoin, Ether, Stablecoins, and other cryptocurrencies across 9 disparate blockchains. Notably, THORChain eschews wrapping or pegging assets, instead, it enables the direct exchange of value from one coin on one blockchain to another coin on a separate chain.

THORChain employs a distinctive mechanism to alleviate the issue of “impermanent losses” – the fleeting losses that liquidity providers often incur when contributing to liquidity pools. By implementing a slip-based fee, THORChain ensures that liquidity remains where it is most needed.

THORChain converges a suite of innovative technologies, including one-way state pegs, a state machine, the Bifröst Signer Module, and a TSS protocol, to facilitate seamless, permissionless cross-chain token swaps. This sophisticated architecture operates discreetly, rendering the platform accessible to traders of all experience levels.

The protocol operates on a not-for-profit basis, with all generated fees being directly distributed to participants, including node operators and liquidity providers. Notably, there are no provisions in place for the team to benefit financially. Instead, the team’s incentives are aligned with those of the community, as they too benefit from holding RUNE.

THORChain facilitates Streaming Swaps, a innovative feature that fragments large swaps into multiple smaller transactions over a period of time, thereby substantially mitigating swap fees for users.

Beyond swaps, THORChain facilitates single-sided liquidity provision through its Savers feature. This enables users to provide Layer 1 assets, such as BTC, and earn single-sided yields, all while avoiding impermanent loss.

THORChain is also home to a premier Lending protocol, where users can leverage their native BTC or ETH as collateral to secure a USD-denominated loan in the asset of their preference. Notably, these loans are distinguished by the absence of liquidations, interest, and expiration dates.

What Is the Circulating Supply of THORChain (RUNE) Coins?

As of June 2022, the circulating supply of RUNE stands at 308.0 million, with a total supply capped at 500 million.

As previously mentioned, THORChain initially debuted following a successful Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on the Binance DEX, during which 20 million RUNE tokens were sold. Notably, this was preceded by earlier funding rounds, which saw a total of 130 million RUNE tokens being sold.

According to the official Binance DEX proposal, a 10% allocation of the total supply, equivalent to 50 million tokens, was reserved for the team, with a lock-in period until the mainnet launch, followed by a 20% monthly unlocking schedule. A significant portion of this allocation was subsequently resold to secure additional funding for the protocol. Notably, the team’s current holdings amount to less than 1% of the total RUNE supply. As of July 2023, all RUNE tokens have been fully vested and unlocked, with no remaining restrictions.

Following a 2.5-year transitional phase, ERC-20 and BEP-2 RUNE have been officially deprecated, paving the way for a seamless upgrade to native RUNE.

The Security Architecture of the THORChain Network

THORChain is constructed utilizing the Cosmos SDK and is fueled by the Tendermint consensus mechanism, ensuring the network’s security through a pioneering BFT proof-of-stake (PoS) system, wherein a multitude of validators collaborate to propose and finalize blocks of transactions, thereby safeguarding the network against potential attacks.

Beyond this, THORChain’s smart contracts have undergone rigorous audits by multiple third-party security firms, including a comprehensive review by Certik, which yielded a clean bill of health, with no vulnerabilities detected.

Acquiring THORChain (RUNE): A Comprehensive Guide to Exchanges and Marketplaces

RUNE is a widely recognized cryptocurrency that can be readily purchased and traded on a multitude of both centralized and decentralized exchange platforms, with prominent listings on Binance, a centralized exchange, and THORSwap, a decentralized interface powered by THORChain.

RUNE boasts unparalleled liquidity on the THORChain Automated Market Maker (AMM), conveniently accessible via any ecosystem interface.

As of June 2022, a significant proportion of RUNE trading pairs consist of crypto-to-crypto transactions. Notwithstanding, it is possible to acquire RUNE using Korean won (KRW) on ProBit Exchange and US dollars (USD) on Binance. For a comprehensive overview of purchasing cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies, please refer to our esteemed guide.

Associated Resources:

Discover Uniswap (UNI), the governance token powering the renowned Uniswap Automated Market Maker (AMM).

Discover 1inch (1INCH), the proprietary token powering the 1inch decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator.

Delve into the Realm of Decentralization: Uncover the Truth with CoinMarketCap Alexandria.

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