THORChain Fundamentals Strengthen, But RUNE Remains Sluggish: Report  

THORChain fundamentals and user traction are strengthening, according to a recent report. However, the same cannot be said for the network’s native token RUNE which remains in the digital doldrums.

On July 30, institutional-grade crypto research firm Delphi Digital posted its latest report on THORChain fundamentals.

THORChain Development Activity Continues

The core development team “keeps tirelessly shipping new features and products” for cross-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) THORChain.

“Contrary to the Rune price action, THORChain fundamentals and user traction have never been better,” wrote Delphi Digital.

Organic fee revenue now makes up 44% of node earnings, up from around 5% last year. This shows the protocol is becoming economically sustainable.

“Despite the current market conditions, the share of organic swap fees in THORChain earnings has been consistently growing.”

Furthermore, the number of unique addresses carrying out swaps on THORChain continues to grow, with over 66,000 “swappers” expected this month.

There are also important integrations with TrustWallet and Ledger Live that will allow THORChain to leverage these platforms’ users.

Moreover, a new “streaming swaps” feature breaks up large swaps into smaller segments for better pricing. This can improve swap price by 17% compared to normal swaps, making THORChain more competitive with centralized exchanges, it noted.

THORChain launched amid a lot of hype in April 2021. The network facilitated multi-asset, cross-chain trading, and swaps without using bridging technology, synthetic assets, or wrapped token variants.

However, the protocol was hacked several times in July 2021, losing millions in crypto funds to high-profile DeFi exploits.

Moreover, in March 2023, the platform halted trading after discovering another potential vulnerability.

THORChain’s total value locked currently sits at $167.5 million, according to DeFiLlama. It is down 88% from its all-time high of $1.39 billion in April 2022 as the DeFi winter drags on.

THORChain TVL Chart. Source: DeFiLlama

RUNE Price Outlook

RUNE prices are not looking any healthier. The DEX token is currently trading down 1% on the day at $0.929 at the time of writing.

RUNE has had a rough fortnight dropping 10% as crypto markets retreat.

RUNE Price in USD 1 week. Source: BeInCrypto

RUNE surged to an all-time high of $20.87 in the month preceding the THORChain launch. However, over two and a half years later, it languishes 95.5% off that lofty peak.