Thorchain is a unique protocol with a goal to enable DeFi using native assets. It is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol that enables the exchange of native layer-1 assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and others in a permissionless way.
Unlike most of the other DEXs and DeFi protocols, that are using wrapped versions of other tokens on their network, Thorchain enables native coins to be swapped between each other. For example, the biggest DEX, Uniswap has WBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin) on the Ethereum network and then it allows this Bitcoin synthetic asset to be used on the Ethereum network. This comes with more risk added, as the issuer of the WBTC tokens on Ethereum needs to hold the appropriate amount of BTC on the native network at all times. It’s the similar situation for other tokens and networks.
Thorchain allows users to swap assets between blockchain networks without the need for wrapped tokens, essentially serving as a bridge between these networks. The protocol is built on the Cosmos SDK and uses the Tendermint consensus engine.
Recently more use cases were added as Streaming Swaps.
It is worth noting that in the past Thorchain had its issues more than once. There was funds loss, hacks and stopping the entire protocol. More info in the whitepaper.
Here we will be looking at:
- Total value locked TVL (collateral)
- Trading volume
- Transactions
- Top tokens
- Defi protocols rank by TVL
- Price
The data here is compiled from different sources like DefiLama and Runescan.
Total Value Locked
Here is the chart for the total value locked in the protocol.
The TVL for the Thorchain has been on a wild ride. It increased a lot back in 2021 during the previous bull market, reaching more than 500M and then dropped to 100M during the bear market in 2022 and 2023. At the end of 2023 and 2024 the TVL increased again reaching its previous ATH to 500M. A drop in the recent months and we are now at 250M.
Note that while 500M is a significant number, it’s still significantly lower than the top DeFi apps alike AAVE, Uniswap or MakerDAO, where the TVL is above 10B.
Trading Volume
Here is the chart for the daily trading volume on Thorchain.
We can see the significant growth in the last period in the trading activities on Thorchain. Unlike the TVL where the recent spike is at the levels of the previous bull market, the recent spike in the trading volume is much higher than the previous bull market. Meaning a lot more trading activity has been going on, and the protocol is much more used.
At the recent spikes there was 700M daily trading volume. In the last period the trading volume is at 100M.
On a monthly basis the chart looks like this:
We can see the spike in March 2024 with more than 10B in trading volume. This is an ATH for Thorchain. A drop since then and the protocol is now around 3B in trading volume monthly.
Transactions
The data for the number of monthly transactions looks like this.
These are monthly transactions.
We can see that when it comes to the monthly transactions, the recent numbers are on the levels of the previous bull market at around 2.5M monthly transactions or close to 100k daily transactions. In the last month this number has been around 1.5M.
Top Coins
Which coins are deposited the most on the Thorchain protocol. Here is the chart.
Bitcoin comes on the top here with more than 100M liquidity, followed by Ethereum and then the stablecoins USDC and USDT with around 15M each.
Other native coins that are supported are BCH, BNB, AVAX, DOGE and LTC.
Top Defi Protocols Ranked by Trading Volume
How is the Thorchain protocol doing when compared to the other ones? The trading volume is usually one of the metrics these protocols use.
Here is the chart.
This is a 24H trading volume.
Uniswap is still leading here in terms of trading volume. Jupiter is in the second spot, followed by Pancake.
Thorchain comes in the second half of the ranking with around 50M in the last 24H. Historically it has been around 100M so it might rank even higher on another day. The main point is that Thorchain is now a top 10 DeFi app.
Price
Here is the chart for the RUNE token.
Quite a wild ride for RUNE, going from a few cents in 2020 to $20 in 2021, and down to 0.8 USD.
A sharp recovery in the last few months, hitting $10 at one point. In the last period RUNE is trading around the $4 mark.
By all metrics Thorchain seems to have survived the brutal bear market and is starting to grow again in 2024. It’s still not at the very top in terms of DeFi apps, but it has a real chance, having in mind its unique functionality, enabling multichain swaps, and use cases as lending. When combined with BTC, things can get interesting. Hopefully there won’t be any hiccups going forward and no hacks.
All the best
@dalz