THORChain: Infrastructure For a Multichain Future

A multichain world isn’t just the future, it is the present.

Today there are 10 blockchains that store over $10 billion in assets. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the leading blockchains, store $700 billion and $500 billion in assets, respectively.

Today there are also several blockchains that have meaningful development and economic activity, led by Ethereum, but also including Binance Smart Chain, Cosmos, Solana, Polkadot, and Terra. Growth doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon, and it's likely even more blockchains will rise in the coming years. In many ways the world of blockchains is quickly starting to resemble our physical world today, defined by nations which each have their own economies, governed by their own rules.

However, while nations are connected by various transportation systems, blockchains remain divided. Today there is no reliable and scalable way to move value between blockchains without relying on trusted third parties. Instead blockchain users must use centralized intermediaries like exchanges and custodians to move value between blockchains, exposing them to custodial risks and censorship. What is needed is truly decentralized cross-chain settlement infrastructure that enables users to exchange assets between blockchains.

Enter THORChain

Founded in 2018 by a pseudonymous development team, THORChain is an independent, Cosmos SDK enabled blockchain that enables cross-chain swaps using a network of nodes and liquidity providers. In July 2019 it raised $1.5 million in an Initial DEX Offering on Binance Chain, and has since launched its testnet in June 2020, ChaosNet (first mainnet iteration on Binance Chain) in August 2020, and Mainnet in April 2021. Mainnet is currently rolling out in a guarded launch, with the community progressively raising limits on liquidity pools as the network grows, proves out its security, and works through bugs. It currently supports five blockchains including Bitcoin, Etherum, Binance Chain, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin, with plans to connect with many more in the coming months.