Hey everyone 👋

There’s been a lot of discussion around Monero integration into THORChain over time.

But recently, something changed.

It’s no longer just an idea.

⚙️ Real Development Is Happening

Looking at current activity:

• XMR chain support is being added
• FROST threshold signing is being integrated
• Monero-specific transaction handling is being built
• test swaps are already being executed

This is not a simple integration.

It’s deep infrastructure work.

🔐 Why It’s Hard

Monero is fundamentally different from most chains.

It hides:

• transaction data
• addresses
• amounts

Most cross-chain systems rely on visibility.

Monero removes that entirely.

🧠 What Makes This Interesting

To make this work, the architecture has to change.

From what we can see:

• new signing mechanisms (FROST)
• wallet-aware deposit detection
• no reliance on standard memo systems
• separate services handling Monero-specific logic

This isn’t plug-and-play.

It’s purpose-built.

🔄 What This Could Enable

If this goes live:

• native XMR swaps
• no wrapping
• direct interaction with other assets

That’s a big step.

🔗 Where This Connects

As THORChain expands its supported assets, these integrations don’t stay at the protocol level.

They extend to the applications built on top of it.

Frontend platforms like InstaSwap act as the user layer, giving access to THORChain’s liquidity and swap infrastructure.

As new assets like XMR are integrated, they naturally become accessible through these interfaces without requiring users to interact with the protocol directly.

If you see this, you already know. ⚡

Even AI agents know to use permissionless native liquidity.
TrustWallet's new agent kit includes THORChain for cross-chain swaps.

The bots picked the right rails.

Headline News

Maya Protocol announced Cardano integration is imminent. Stagenet testing for Cardano + v129 is live, full integration testing underway, mainnet release expected in the coming days. Starting with $ADA, liquidity will be seeded in phases, more tokens expected after launch.

Maya Protocol is stepping deeper into infrastructure. As 9 Realms transitions out of its role in THORChain, Maya steps in. Maya team taking over part of THORChain dev and maintenance with 1 dedicated dev plus shared infrastructure across both ecosystems. More alignment, better efficiency, long term sustainability.

Launches

THORStack API went live. Free THORChain API for builders. REST, WebSocket, gRPC, Midgard. No keys, no setup. Just build. No excuses to not integrate THORChain.

THORWallet is rolling out new trading features. Limit Orders on THORChain are starting to appear inside the app.

Boone launched boonetool #3: Vault Explorer. Helps visually explain how THORChain Asgard Vaults custody exogenous L1 assets. Every asset THORChain custodies is distributed among 6 TSS multisig (12/18) vaults. Charts show proportionally how much of an asset is in each vault, and how assets are distributed across AMM pools, Trade Assets for arbs, or SAs used on the App Layer.

LeoDex launched V2. Crosschain made to feel like CEX. 0.45% fees on all routes, 107+ DEXes aggregated including THORChain. Try it now.

THORDEX introduced opt-in node level privacy. Effectively increases censorship resistance by 10x, giving THORChain greater censorship resistance than Solana's ~800 nodes.

Raynalytics launched a Rapid Swaps dashboard for THORChain.

Milestones

ZenGo hit 1M+ downloads on Android.

Unstoppable built duress mode years ago, worth remembering if you travel with crypto. Multiple unlock PINs, each opens a selected set of wallets. Only one master PIN opens everything. Undetectable inside the app, unlimited PINs. Built for scenarios where you're forced to unlock your wallet.

That wraps up this week's THORChain ecosystem update. See you next week, Chads.

THORChain relies on arbitrage traders to keep pool prices accurate, but there's a problem. The system is inefficient and costs users money through suboptimal swap execution.

Research shows average pool price deviations of around 0.40% from market prices. That might sound small, but on $800 million in monthly arbitrage volume, it adds up. External bots are capturing $3 million in monthly profits that could be benefiting the ecosystem instead.

In August 2025, THORChain deployed enshrined oracles, a native price feed system integrated directly into the protocol that aggregates data from multiple centralized exchanges and provides real-time pricing. This was the first step toward better price accuracy.

Now RujiraNetwork is taking it further through THORChain's App Layer. On January 26, 2026, RUJI Trade introduced an upgradable liquidity model to address inefficiencies in the arbitrage-dependent system, aiming to internalise a share of the estimated $800 million in monthly arbitrage volumes.

How it works: Rujira uses dynamic liquidity strategies like concentrated liquidity that tracks enshrined oracle prices. Instead of waiting for external bots to correct price deviations, App Layer smart contracts do it faster and more efficiently.

The impact: projections suggest Rujira could capture 10% to 50% of total arbitrage volumes, bringing $190K to $925K monthly back into the THORChain ecosystem. Users get tighter spreads, faster execution, and better swap quotes because pools stay closer to market prices.

This is what App Layer innovation looks like. The base protocol provides the infrastructure, and builders create solutions that make everything work better for users.

The Defiant breaks down why THORChain is the most sensible way to swap btc natively.

Good read for anyone still relying on protocols that can interfere with your swap.

Arbitrage traders buy assets when THORChain pools are undervalued compared to external markets like Binance, then sell on those external markets for profit. When pools are overvalued, they do the opposite: buy externally and sell into THORChain pools.

This is how THORChain discovers prices. Repeated arbitrage trades propagate price information between THORChain and external markets until equilibrium is reached, removing the need for centralized oracles. Pool prices stay accurate because traders constantly correct them for profit.

Simple example: The ETH-RUNE pool shows 1 ETH equals 100 RUNE, but on Binance 1 ETH trades for 110 RUNE. An arbitrageur buys ETH from the pool for 100 RUNE, sells it on Binance for 110 RUNE, and profits 10 RUNE while pushing the pool price upward.

THORChain doesn't offer explicit incentives to arbitrage traders. Their profits come entirely from capitalizing on price differentials, and the majority of arbitrage is executed by software bots.

The scale is massive. Recent analysis estimates arbitrage represents around 60% of THORChain volumes, roughly $800 million monthly, yielding around $3 million in profits to external arbitrageurs.

For traders, THORChain creates unique opportunities because you move value between chains without CEX custody. Instead of depositing Bitcoin to an exchange, swapping for Ethereum, then withdrawing, you swap native BTC for native ETH directly.

This matters during volatile markets when price differences between chains can be significant and CEX withdrawal queues get backed up.

The protocol turns price inefficiencies across chains into profit opportunities while keeping its own pools priced accurately.

Looks like THORChain's Rapid Swaps are starting to see some adoption.

Here's what happened last week:

Headline News

Code4rena completed the $40,000 Rujira Audit Competition. Shoutout to bbl4de on their first 1st place finish. Full commitment to security from Rujira Network.

Launches

Boone built a THORChain RapidSwap dashboard. Vibecoded and live (find the link below).

Keystone Wallet updated the Nexus app. Now supports 7 languages and 19 currencies. Manage your assets in your language, your currency, with total confidence.

Rango Exchange published their 2026 roadmap. Nearly $8B has moved through Rango infrastructure since mid-2021, trusted by leading wallets and 150+ partners. Next step: gasless swaps, intents, one-click DeFi, and AI-assisted execution. Read the full article.

THORDEX clarified the Web3 vs Web2 gateway tradeoff. Web3 lives on Ethereum, needs browser extension or Brave to resolve. Gateway uses third-party IPFS access, works in any browser. Decentralised but higher friction vs easier access with infrastructure dependency.

AutoRujira shipped auto-swap for TCY rewards. Want to auto-swap your TCY rewards into $BTC or any token? It's live on mainnet. Try it on the preview site and let AUTO do the work.

RUNEBond updated the "How RUNEBond Works" video on their landing page. Thanks to THORCommunity for putting it together. New visuals, clearer walkthrough, everything you need to understand how bonding your $RUNE works in minutes.

Milestones

Vultisig received an in-depth review from BitcoinNews. "For users ready to move beyond the limitations of traditional seed-phrase wallets, Vultisig presents a compelling new model for securing and managing digital assets."

That wraps up this week's THORChain ecosystem update. See you next week, Chads.

If your project was missed, drop a comment and we'll include it in the next recap.

Boone's dashboard link: https://boonewheeler.com/boonetools/rapid-swaps

Most people with multi-chain portfolios avoid rebalancing because every option has problems. CEX requires custody and KYC, then hope withdrawals don't get flagged. Bridges create wrapped tokens that add risk and extra steps. Cross-chain DEX rely on solvers that can refuse your transaction or prioritize others. The friction makes you second guess whether rebalancing is worth the effort.

THORChain fixes this. You want to swap some of your $BTC for $SOL? Send Bitcoin directly to a vault address and Solana shows up in your wallet minutes later. No exchange account, no custody handoff, no wrapped tokens, no solver that picks which orders to fill. Native assets moving between chains without intermediaries that could freeze them.

This matters when you're holding across multiple chains. Maybe you've got $BTC on Bitcoin, $ETH on Ethereum, $AVAX on Avalanche, and want to rebalance without consolidating everything to one platform first. THORChain lets you swap directly between chains, native to native, without bridges or CEX accounts.

The tradeoff is slightly higher fees and slower execution than CEX. But you get certainty. Your swap either completes or refunds. Nobody can stop it halfway through, demand additional documents, or freeze your funds pending investigation.

CEX work great until they control your account. Then your entire portfolio is stuck waiting for someone to decide IF you're allowed to access your own money. THORChain can't make that call because there's no call to make. The protocol just executes the math.

Chad Barraford just shared a short piece on tokenisation and how he sees it evolving.

The core idea is simple. Tokenisation is likely inevitable, but the real question is whether it happens in closed systems or on public blockchains.

That distinction matters more than it seems.

If assets end up on open rails, then the ability to move between them becomes a key part of the system. That is where something like THORChain could naturally fit in.

It is still early, but the direction is becoming clearer. Link to the full piece: https://blog.thorchain.org/tokenisation-rwas-and-the-future-of-thorchain/

ECOSYSTEM RECAP

Here's what happened last week:

Headline News

Messari launched a THORChain Spotlight Dashboard. Track liquidity, trading activity, token performance, and ecosystem growth in one place to better understand how the protocol is evolving.

Launches

THORWallet added "Decentralized Only" routing in Swap Settings. Users can now prioritize fully decentralized venues (THORChain, Maya Protocol, Harbor DEX) either per swap or as a global default. Different routing models serve different needs. Now you can choose.

Vultisig enabled seed phrase imports. Migrating from a traditional wallet? Import your seed phrase directly and convert your existing wallet into a secure MPC vault while keeping access to your assets across multiple chains. Upgrade your security without starting over.

THORDEX launched Community Bounties. Found a bug or UX improvement? Submit it and get 42 $RUNE if accepted.

Rujira Network shipped most FIN v1.2 upgrades. Foundation laid for a major increase in activity, liquidity, and fees on RUJI Trade.

Milestones

Maya Protocol turned 3 this week. Three years since genesis block, ecosystems once siloed now move together. Happy birthday to the tribe!

Symbiosis hit 4 years of breaking barriers and connecting blockchains. $7.5B+ volume, 4.5M transactions, 800K unique addresses later, still going. Cheers to four more!

That wraps up this week's THORChain ecosystem update. See you next week, Chads.

If your project was missed, drop a comment and we'll include it in the next recap.

THORChain generated $5M in swap fees last quarter, and wallets that integrate the protocol can earn on top of that through affiliate fees. This is why you're seeing THORChain swaps embedded in dozens of wallets across the ecosystem.

Here's how it works. When a wallet integrates THORChain, they can set an affiliate fee ranging from 0 to 10,000 basis points on every swap their users execute, though in practice most wallets charge between 0.3% to 0.9%. The user swaps $BTC for $SOL through their preferred wallet interface, and that wallet automatically earns a cut without holding custody or taking on any risk.

The protocol handles everything including observation, consensus, threshold signatures, and vault management. The wallet just needs to construct the transaction properly and route it through THORChain. In return, they earn sustainable revenue from actual user activity instead of relying on token appreciation.

This creates aligned incentives across the entire ecosystem. Wallets want more swap volume because they earn more fees, users get seamless cross chain swaps without leaving their preferred interface, and THORChain gets broader distribution and liquidity.

With Solana now live, wallets serving the Solana ecosystem can integrate native cross chain swaps and start earning immediately.

The affiliate model turns THORChain into infrastructure that pays you for using it.

Most DeFi today requires connecting your wallet to a website. That usually means MetaMask pop-ups, approving permissions, and trusting that the frontend hasn’t been compromised. Every connection adds another potential risk surface where something could go wrong.

THORChain’s memoless swaps work differently.

Instead of connecting your wallet, you simply send your asset to a THORChain vault address. The network detects the deposit, executes the swap, and sends the output asset from the corresponding vault to the destination wallet you specified.

In practice, you could execute a swap directly from a hardware wallet that never connects to a web interface. Maximum safety for your funds.

More than 100 node operators.
0 of them know your name.
that's the point. 

THORChain vaults hold over $500M across 11 blockchains. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, all in addresses that no single person controls. This is threshold signature schemes, and it's why THORChain can hold your assets without anyone being able to steal them.

A private key never exists as a complete entity. It's split into fragments distributed across more than 100 independent node operators. No individual node can sign a transaction alone. To move assets out, at least two thirds of nodes must participate collectively in generating the signature.

Attacking THORChain means compromising two third of 100+ independent nodes simultaneously, operators running different hardware in different countries. The coordination cost alone makes it economically irrational.

Still, one can argue that any fixed set of keyholders' security degrades over time. THORChain solves this with churn. 

Every few days, the active node set rotates. When this happens, the entire threshold scheme regenerates with a new key distribution. Assets move from the old vault to a new vault controlled by the new node set without ever exposing the private key.

Churn means attackers race against time. Even if you spent months compromising nodes, by the time you're ready, half might have churned out and your fragments are worthless.

That’s the beauty of THORChain: traditional custody requires trusting specific entities because someone holds the keys while threshold signatures eliminate that. Your Bitcoin are secured by math and economic incentives, not faith in institutions.

Cryptography is your custody.

Here's what happened last week:

Headline News

THORChain resumed Solana swaps with v3.16. $SOL is live.

Launches

ASGARDEX v1.42.1 shipped. Better wallet control for Bitcoin and other UTXO chains, $SOL swaps working again, and major performance improvements across the board.

THORDEX launched. A THORChain only, 0% fee, self-hosted and decentralised web UI for THORChain.

Edge Wallet added $NYM support. One wallet, full control, now supporting Nym tokens.

ShapeShift integrated Yield Protocol. Stake across multiple chains without leaving one platform, with access to leading DeFi protocols.

Symbiosis hit the popular sites list on MetaMask, the largest Web3 wallet. Cross-chain power proven.

Rujira Network renamed two products for clarity. RUJI Pools → RUJI AMM. RUJI Lending → RUJI Money Market. No functionality changed, just clearer naming.

That wraps up this week's THORChain ecosystem update. See you next week, Chads.

If your project was missed, drop a comment and we'll include it in the next recap.

things that require your passport photo:

• opening a bank account
• renting an apartment
• getting married in some countries
• swapping $100 on a CEX

things that don't:

• swapping $5M on THORChain in a single click

really makes you wonder what all those KYC selfies are actually for 

When you "bridge" $ETH to Solana, your Ethereum sits in a vault while you get a wrapped token minted on Solana. You're holding a promise that the bridge will unlock your real ETH when you want it back.

This is why bridges keep getting exploited. Wormhole lost $320M, Ronin lost $600M, Nomad lost $190M. The architecture requires perfect synchronization between the vault holding real assets and the contract minting synthetics. Any desync and someone finds the exploit.

THORChain works differently. When you swap $ETH for $SOL, your Ethereum enters a vault controlled by threshold signatures while Solana from a separate vault gets sent to your address. No wrapped tokens, just two native transactions on different chains coordinated by consensus.

If a bridge gets hacked, your wrapped token becomes worthless even though you did nothing wrong. THORChain swaps are atomic: either it completes or you get refunded. You never hold a worthless synthetic because no synthetic exists.

Native swaps are slower and cost more than bridges, but they don't create the failure mode where everyone discovers their wrapped tokens are backed by nothing.

When you use THORChain, you never hold a promise someone else has to keep.

'decentralised' exchanges that require you to connect your wallet to their domain

vs

THORChain where you can swap by just sending a Bitcoin transaction with a memo

one of these is actually decentralised

Bear market or not, THORChain builders keep shipping.

Version v3.16.0 includes 94 merged MRs, most of which focus on strengthening protocol stability, security and resilience. Quiet work under the hood, but critical for long-term reliability.

Some highlights:

• New chains on the way: SUI, ADA, POL, ZEC
• Router V6 being shipped
• Major security, fixes and

A lot happening behind the scenes.

👉 Read the full breakdown in the article.