What is THORChain?

THORChain is a network that swaps native coins across chains, such as Bitcoin for Ether, with no bridges and no wrapped tokens. The coins sit in vaults on their home chains, secured by about 100 independent node operators.

How it works

Node operators run full nodes of every connected chain. Coins sit in vaults on their home chains, and the vaults are secured with threshold signatures: their keys are split among the node operators, and the set of nodes changes every few days.

A swap moves real coins. Bitcoin goes into the Bitcoin vault and Ether comes out of the Ether vault, priced against RUNE in between.

Why it matters

A bridge locks a coin on one chain and mints a stand-in on another, so you end up holding an IOU and trusting whoever guards the original. THORChain skips that step: what you hold and what you withdraw is the real coin.

In Redacted

Redacted’s Reserve holds THORChain secured assets, so every private balance is backed by real coins on their home chains, and withdrawals arrive as native coins.

What is THORChain →

Related terms

RUNERUNE is THORChain’s native asset. Node operators bond it to take part in the network, and it sits on one side of every pool of liquidity, so a swap from Bitcoin to Ether runs from BTC to RUNE to ETH in one flow.Secured assetsSecured assets are native coins deposited into THORChain’s vaults and held one to one on THORChain, such as BTC-BTC for Bitcoin. Apps use them for trading, lending and more, and they can be withdrawn back to their home chain as the real coin.Native cross-chain swapA native cross-chain swap trades a coin on one chain for a coin on another, for example Bitcoin for Ether, by moving the real coins between vaults instead of minting wrapped copies on a bridge.Wrapped tokenA wrapped token stands in for a coin from another chain, such as WBTC for Bitcoin on Ethereum. It is worth the real coin only as long as whoever holds the original keeps it safe and honors redemptions.RujiraRujira is THORChain’s app layer: orderbook trading, swaps, lending, borrowing, staking and more, all with native coins held as THORChain secured assets.

Sources: THORChain documentation

Updated October 7, 2026. All terms