RT @RUNEBondApp: Seems like there are a lot of eyes on THORChain lately. If you are one of the new ones and still piecing it together, here is a quick reminder of what the protocol actually is and how it works.
🟦 What it does
@THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol for native cross-chain swaps. You send bitcoin:native and receive $ETH, both in their native form. No wrapped assets, no bridges, no custodian holding your funds in between. It is one of the few systems in crypto where the settlement layer itself moves native assets across chains.
🟦 The role of $RUNE
Every liquidity pool pairs one asset with RUNE. A swap from BTC to ETH is internally two swaps: BTC to RUNE, then RUNE to ETH. This is the reason RUNE is not optional in the design. It is the settlement asset that lets chains with no shared infrastructure clear against each other.
🟦 Who secures it
The network is run by nodes. Each node bonds RUNE as collateral before it can participate. Nodes collectively hold the private keys of the vaults where user assets sit, split via threshold signatures so no single node can move funds alone. If a node misbehaves or goes offline, its bond gets slashed. Security here is economic: an attacker would need to control enough bonded RUNE to outweigh the value they could steal, and that RUNE would be destroyed in the process.
🟦 Where node income comes from
Nodes earn exclusively from swap fees. There are no block rewards and no token emissions subsidizing them. If swap volume drops, node income drops with it. This is worth stating plainly because most proof-of-stake networks pay validators through inflation. THORChain does not. Revenue is a direct function of usage.
🟦 Staking RUNE (bonding)
On THORChain, staking RUNE means bonding it to a specific node, run by a specific operator, under terms that operator sets. Unlike most networks, you do not delegate to a pool and forget about it. The process involves a whitelist request and operator approval before your RUNE becomes active and starts earning. That friction is by design. It forces the bond provider to evaluate who they are trusting with capital, and forces the operator to choose who they let in.
🟦 Churn
Churn is the periodic rotation of the active node set. Standby nodes with sufficient bond rotate in, existing nodes rotate out, and the network avoids ossifying into a fixed group. Rewards generated during a churn cycle are distributed to nodes and their bond providers at the end of that cycle, so staked RUNE only starts earning once the node is churned in, and only stops when it churns out.
🟦 Supported chains
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, TRON, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Avalanche, Cosmos and Base.
Next in line, with no confirmed launch date yet, are Zcash and Monero.
