THORChain, a native asset settlement protocol, has emerged as a significant player in the decentralized exchange (DEX) space, showcasing the third-largest trading volume among DEX platforms over the past week.
With a trading volume of $1.32 billion during this period, THORChain trails only behind Uniswap and PancakeSwap, which recorded volumes of $10.85 billion and $2.77 billion, respectively, according to DefiLlama.
The surge in THORChain’s popularity can be attributed to the high yield offered alongside its native token, RUNE. In the last seven days, THORChain’s trading volume exceeded $334.3 million, securing the second spot and surpassing PancakeSwap by nearly $50 million.
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Notably, the native token RUNE has experienced remarkable growth, appreciating by 51% in the past week and over 200% in the last 30 days, according to data from Coinmarketcap.
Related: Bitcoin consolidates around $35K while ETH, APT, QNT, and RUNE surge
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The rapid rise of THORChain has outpaced predictions, with core developer Chad Barraford noting in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) that the expected “flippening” with Curve Finance occurred much sooner than anticipated. Barraford, who initially estimated this event to happen before the end of 2023, expressed surprise at the quick progression, stating, “Okay, this happened much faster than I thought. Just took 2 days instead of 2 months.”
Functioning as a multichain version of Uniswap, THORChain allows users to swap native Bitcoin for Ether. The decentralized exchange powered by the THORChain protocol is known as THORSwap.
One of the key attractions for users is the platform’s attractive average annual percentage rate (APR) of nearly 44%. Certain liquidity pools on THORChain offer even higher APRs, such as Bitcoin and RUNE pairs, providing an impressive over 353% APR.
Bitcoin advocate Erik Voorhees highlighted the significance of THORChain by pointing out that it processed almost 2%, equivalent to $224 million, of the overall spot Bitcoin trading volume during the 24 hours between Nov. 11 and 12. Voorhees emphasized THORChain as a crucial market for trading Bitcoin at scale without the need for an intermediary, aligning with the core principles of Bitcoin.
Principled Bitcoiners should be familiar with @THORChain
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) November 12, 2023
It is the *only market* to trade #Bitcoin at scale without an intermediary… which is the entire point of Bitcoin.
>$200m of native non-wrapped BTC was traded here in the past 24 hrs, permissionlessly.
If you'd like… https://t.co/0WW4QRCo6F
Related: Will Bitcoin’s ‘Uptober’ Boost MKR, AAVE, RUNE, and INJ?
The THORChain project, initiated by a team of developers at the Binance Dexathon in 2018, remains notable for its contributions to the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, even though many of its founding developers have chosen to remain anonymous.