THORChain

Swapping on several blockchains has resumed following the 3.21.1 update.

Trading blockchains: AVAX, BASE, BCH, BTC, DOGE, ETH, LTC, RUNE, TRON, XRPL, ZEC

Halted blockchains: ATOM, BSC, SOL

14 active nodes still haven’t updated to 3.21.1. All active nodes need to update to 3.21.1 to fix performance issues with swapping.

The 3.21.1 update also gets THORChain one step closer to launching Monero.

Maya Protocol And THORChain @patriotsounds @AaluxxMyth @KentonC137 @Maya_Protocol | Podcast #249 x.com/i/broadcasts/2…

On THORChain, decisions are made directly on the blockchain. For an important change to be accepted, ⅔ of its nodes have to vote for it.

Right now, 111 nodes are active. They all bond at least 300,000 RUNE, put up as collateral to secure the network. Each node has one vote, no matter how much it has bonded.

All nodes run software called THORNode. Anyone, from devs to community members, can suggest changes to this software. These ideas are discussed in Discord (open to anyone to join) and fine-tuned until they become code.

The changes are then submitted to the nodes, who decide whether THORNode moves to the next version, or not. It takes the approval of ⅔ of the nodes.

Nodes also vote on network parameters through a system called Mimir. For economic changes such as fees, it takes ⅔ of the nodes. For operational changes such as security, only 3 votes are required. 4 nodes can vote to rescind an operational mimir, then 5 node votes can counter the 4, and so on.

Some actions don't need a vote at all. For example, two nodes are ejected from the network every churn period (roughly 3 days), the oldest node in the network and the node with the most slash points. Swapping is automatically halted if the network detects an insolvency.

THORChain Update with @CBarraford, @patriotsounds, @KentonC137 | Podcast #248 x.com/i/broadcasts/2…

THORChain is the world's first cross chain decentralized exchange. It's been operating for over 5 years now.

Before, the only scalable way to trade between Bitcoin and Ethereum was going through a centralized exchange.

Atomic swaps were available, however they can't scale. Bridges and wrapped tokens were used, but they introduced counterparty risk. There wasn't a proper DEX to swap Bitcoin in a self custody wallet for Ethereum in a self custody wallet.

Vitalik Buterin highlighted this problem back in March 2020, expressing his frustration that there wasn't an easy way to move between Bitcoin and Ethereum without relying on centralized exchanges.

THORChain was built to solve this problem.

THORChain was designed like Bitcoin and Ethereum, to be permissionless, censorship-resistant, and public. All transactions on THORChain are transparent, there is no obfuscation. When Monero starts trading, XMR swaps will have all the same public data as BTC and ETH swaps.

It remains the closest example of a decentralized BTC-to-ETH exchange described by Vitalik.

We believe THORChain is one of the most decentralized blockchains in crypto.

According to a Raynalytics dashboard, the network has 111 active nodes operated by 56 unique node operators. 20 operators control just over two-thirds of the active nodes.

There is no single developer or entity in control of THORChain.

Core developers can make recommendations and write code to update the protocol, but nodes ultimately decide whether to adopt those changes. Protocol upgrades depend on sufficient support from the validator set, meaning developers cannot unilaterally impose changes on the network.

The decentralization and product market fit of THORChain make it a core piece of DeFi.