THORChain 

RUNE Price

What is the THORChain protocol?

THORChain is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol for swapping native crypto assets directly between blockchains. Users exchange BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC and XMR without wrapped tokens, custodial bridges or KYC checks. The project runs its own Layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, and every swap settles through liquidity pools that use RUNE as the base settlement asset. THORChain targets self-custody traders and liquidity providers who want native-asset interoperability inside a DEX-style protocol.

Is THORChain a blockchain?

Yes. THORChain operates an independent Layer-1 blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK, secured by THORNodes that bond RUNE as collateral. RUNE is the native coin of that chain, not an ERC-20 token on a foreign network. The only tracked contract, 0x4c68041898bfefbfcc4253fbe8ed30830e6eb767 on Gnosis, is a wrapped EVM representation of RUNE, verifiable on Gnosisscan. DropsTab classifies THORChain under DeFi, Infrastructure, DEX and Multi-Chain Platform.

How does a THORChain swap work?

A THORChain swap executes as two pool trades. Each liquidity pool holds a native asset matched one-to-one in value with RUNE, so a BTC-to-ETH swap routes through the BTC pool and the ETH pool. THORNodes secure user funds in threshold signature (Tss) vaults. Nodes observe the inbound deposit on the source chain, then co-sign the release on the destination chain to finalize the swap. Bonding targets roughly 2:1 node bond value to pooled value.

What is the RUNE coin used for within the network?

RUNE serves three functions in THORChain. The coin bonds THORNodes, securing the network economically. It pairs every non-RUNE asset in the liquidity pools at a $1 RUNE to $1 asset ratio. It also pays settlement and gas for every swap on the network. The original protocol-reserve emission curve has concluded, and block rewards are now funded by burning liquidity-fee RUNE, which makes net RUNE emission deflationary.

How large is RUNE's maximum supply?

Per DropsTab data, the maximum supply of RUNE is capped at 354,196,525 coins. The cap is the product of repeated burns: the network launched with 1 billion RUNE, the Killswitch event burned supply down to a 500 million genesis cap, and later governance-approved destructions lowered the effective cap to roughly 354 million. Total supply sits just below the cap.

What does RUNE's vesting schedule mean for investors?

Per DropsTab vesting data, the THORChain token generation event took place on July 20, 2019 through Binance Launchpad. Seven allocations sum to 100% of supply, led by Liquidity Emission at 44% (220,447,472 RUNE). Seed and Private Sale tokens carried 3-month locks with 15- and 12-month linear vesting during 2019-2020. Those dated unlocks are now historical. Current supply growth comes from reserve emissions, so inflation risk tracks emission rates rather than cliff events.

Who backed THORChain, and how much did the rounds raise?

Per DropsTab fundraising data, THORChain raised across four recorded rounds. The Seed round of December 2018 raised $600,000 at $0.02 per RUNE. The July 2019 Private Sale raised $1,610,000 at $0.023, with Multicoin Capital, Delphi Digital, Zee Prime Capital, Mapleblock Capital and Yield Ventures participating. The Binance Launchpad sale held at TGE raised $224,000 at $0.032 per RUNE with no lockup.

What does THORChain's fundraising signal about project maturity?

The two Tier-1 private-sale backers are established crypto-native investment firms, a signal THORChain attracted institutional capital before its token generation event. Concentration risk is low: no single backer is documented holding more than 20% of supply. A separate $3,750,000 equity round in October 2021 funded THORSwap, a THORChain-ecosystem frontend, led by IDEO CoLab Ventures with True Ventures and 0x Ventures joining.

Where can RUNE be traded?

RUNE trades as the native coin on more than 40 markets across 30-plus centralized venues. Spot pairs on Binance, Kraken, Bybit, KuCoin and Bitvavo quote RUNE against USD, USDT, USDC, EUR, BTC and local currencies such as KRW and TRY. Perpetual futures trade on Binance Futures, Hyperliquid, Deribit and Kraken Futures, among others. DropsTab records no decentralized-exchange pairs for the native coin. Deep Tier-1 coverage keeps venue and liquidity risk low.

What happened with THORChain in May 2026?

In May 2026, an exploit drained roughly $10.7 million from one of five Tss vaults. THORNodes voluntarily paused the network while the incident was contained, and THORChain published an official exploit report covering the event. On October 30, 2026, the protocol launched Private Swaps for BTC, ETH and XMR. Because THORChain deliberately operates no-KYC native-asset swaps, the protocol carries ongoing regulatory exposure in restrictive jurisdictions.