THORChain (RUNE), the native token of the decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, has surged to its highest level in over a year after releasing its Q3 report, which showed impressive growth in volume and fees.
THORChain (RUNE), the native token of the decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, has surged to its highest level in over a year after releasing its Q3 report, which showed impressive growth in volume and fees.
The report also highlighted the new features and upgrades that the protocol has delivered in the past three months, such as lending, streaming swaps, and BNB smart chain support.
THORChain nodes must commit a minimum of 1 million 300k RUNE to participate in its rotating consensus process.
Q3 highlights for THORChain and RUNE
According to the Q3 report, THORChain has achieved several milestones and delivered several features and bug fixes in the past three months. Some of the highlights include:
- Lending:Â THORChain launched its long-awaited lending protocol, which allows users to deposit native BTC or ETH as collateral and receive TOR (USD)-denominated debt in their chosen asset. Lending on THORChain has no liquidations, no interest, and no expiration. From its release on August 20 to September 30, 455 loans have been opened, and over 1 million RUNE has been burned.
- Streaming Swaps:Â THORChain introduced streaming swaps, which allow large swaps to be automatically broken up into multiple sub-swaps executed over time. Streaming swaps reduce the liquidity fees for large trades to as low as 5 basis points, depending on arbitrage between sub-swaps. Streaming swaps also improve the price execution and liquidity of the protocol.
- BNB Smart Chain:Â THORChain added support for BNB and BEP-20 assets, expanding its cross-chain capabilities and user base. BNB and BEP-20 assets are now available for swaps, liquidity provision, and savers.
The Q3 report also showed impressive growth in volume and fees for the protocol. The total USD volume increased by 114.4%, reaching $2.38 billion, and the liquidity fees collected amounted to $3.38 million.
The top 5 swap routes by USD volume were BTC <> RUNE, BTC <> ETH, ETH <> RUNE, ETH.USDC <> RUNE, and BNB <> RUNE. The top 5 affiliates by USD volume were Trust Wallet, THORSwap, Rango Exchange, ShapeShift, and THORWallet.
Market response to the Q3 report
The market reacted positively to the Q3 report, as RUNE surged to its highest level in over a year, reaching $4.65 on November 25.
The token has gained over 212% in the past twelve weeks, 85.4% in the past two weeks, and 37.2% in the past seven days. RUNE is currently ranked #23 by market capitalization, with a value of over $1.2 billion.
The Q3 report also coincided with a bullish sentiment in the overall crypto market, driven by the anticipation of a Bitcoin spot ETF approval by the SEC.
A Bitcoin spot ETF would track the actual price of Bitcoin rather than futures contracts and would provide a more direct and accessible way for investors to gain exposure to the leading cryptocurrency.
A Bitcoin spot ETF approval could also boost the demand and price of other crypto assets, including RUNE.
