THORChain Quarterly report - Q1 2026
Summary
THORChain processed $2.82 billion in volume in Q1 2026, generating $3.3 million in fees and $1.9 million in affiliate revenue, with BTC pairs continuing to dominate activity.
The quarter focused on improving performance and usability. Memoless transactions and rapid swaps are now fully live, making swaps simpler and significantly faster. The launch of the Native API removes reliance on third-party providers, while Router V6 improves efficiency for EVM integrations.
The biggest milestone is the live Solana integration, enabling native cross-chain swaps without wrapped assets and opening access to a large new ecosystem. Liquidity is still building, but volumes are starting to grow.
On the tokenomics side, a proposed RUNE burn aims to align total supply with circulating supply, while new protocol-owned liquidity mechanisms will improve capital efficiency.
Looking ahead, new chains such as Polygon, Cardano, Sui, and Zcash are in progress, alongside Monero and TAO. These integrations will be complemented by new features, including intents and an updated design for POL management.
A Look at Q1 2026 Metrics
General Metrics
- Total USD Volume: $2.82B
- Highest 24h Volume: $155.3M
- Change in Total Liquidity: $87.88M to $66.42M
- Swap Fees Collected: $3.326M
- Affiliate Earnings: $1.9M
Top Swap Routes by Volume:
1. BTC <> ETH: $980.88M
2. BTC <> USD: $242.57M
3. BTC <> USDC: $176.5M
4. BTC <> WBTC: $159.28M
5. BCH <> ETH: $126.02M
Top Swap Routes by Swap Fees Collected:
1. BTC <> ETH: $2.10M
2. BTC <> USD: $507.94K
3. BTC <> USDC: $379.27K
4. BTC <> WBTC: $327.55K
5. BCH <> ETH: $281.94K
Top Affiliates by Swap Volume
1. SwapKit (all frontends included) - $489.69M
2. swap.thorchain.org - $429.95M
3. TrustWallet - $231.23M
4. THORSwap - $157.89M
5. Asgardex - $62.42M
What’s new on THORChain in Q1 2026
Swap.thorchain.org Crosses $1 Billion in Volume
The official THORChain swap interface has now processed over $1 billion in swap volume since its beta launch in Q4 2025. What started as a deliberately limited release, with restricted wallet support and basic swap functionality, has grown into the second largest frontend by volume on the protocol, accounting for $429.95 million in Q1 alone. The interface continues to expand, with custom memo support, bonding, and $TCY staking now available in beta.
Solana Integration
After months of development, Solana is now live on THORChain. This integration is not just another chain addition. Solana uses a completely different architecture compared to most chains supported by THORChain, requiring a new approach based on EdDSA signatures instead of the standard models used elsewhere.
A lot of work this quarter focused on making this possible, including improvements to node stability, transaction handling, and overall reliability.
Liquidity is being progressively added to the Solana pool to support larger swaps, and volumes are starting to ramp up as the integration matures.
For the first time, Solana users now have a native way to move assets across chains without relying on wrapped assets or bridges. This opens the door to a large new user base and marks an important step forward in THORChain’s expansion.
New Chains on the Way
The groundwork has been laid for several new chains, including Polygon, Cardano, Sui, and Zcash. While these integrations are not fully live yet, the core infrastructure is now in place to support them.
Rather than rushing integrations, the approach has been to build them properly from the start, ensuring they are secure, stable, and ready to scale once activated.
Router Upgrade (Router V6)
A major upgrade this quarter is the introduction of Router V6, which is currently being rolled out progressively.
The Router is the smart contract layer that connects THORChain to EVM chains like Ethereum. This new version simplifies how funds move into the protocol by sending assets directly to vaults, removing unnecessary steps in the process.
It also enables better integrations, reduces gas costs through batching, and improves flexibility for future upgrades. The rollout is being done gradually to minimise risk and ensure everything works as expected across all supported chains.
Rapid Swaps Now Fully Functional
Rapid Swaps are now fully operational after going through several rounds of fixes and improvements.
This feature allows swaps to execute much faster by attempting multiple swap cycles within a single block. Instead of waiting for gradual execution like streaming swaps, large trades can now be completed almost instantly when conditions allow.
A lot of work this quarter focused on making this system more reliable, fixing edge cases, and ensuring swaps behave predictably even in complex scenarios. The result is a smoother and faster trading experience, especially for larger transactions.
Memoless Transactions (Fully Extended)
Memoless Transactions have now been fully extended across the entire swap flow.
Previously, users had to include a memo with every transaction to tell the network what to do. This was powerful but also a common source of errors, especially for new users.
With this upgrade, THORChain no longer requires memos for both inbound and outbound transactions. The network can now understand what the user wants to do without relying on manual input.
This significantly improves user experience by reducing friction, lowering the chance of mistakes, and making integrations easier for wallets and applications.
Nine Realms Steps Back
After years of supporting THORChain’s development and operations, Nine Realms is gradually stepping back.
They played a key role in infrastructure, releases, and day-to-day operations. Now, as the protocol matures, these responsibilities are being handed over to multiple independent teams without disruption of the network.
THORChain Native API
THORChain’s Native API is now live, providing a more direct way for applications to integrate the protocol.
By removing reliance on third-party SDK and API providers, integrations become simpler, cheaper, and more reliable. Builders can now connect to THORChain more directly, reducing extra fees and dependencies in the stack.
For users, this translates into a smoother experience, with fewer intermediaries and better pricing across wallets and interfaces.
What’s coming next on THORChain
Monero Integration
Work is ongoing for Monero integration. As one of the leading privacy coins, Monero introduces a unique set of technical challenges due to its design, requiring dedicated work to ensure compatibility and secure integration.
Once fully supported, it will allow users to move in and out of Monero natively, without relying on wrapped assets or centralised exchanges, expanding THORChain’s reach into a new segment of the market.
TAO integration
Work on TAO integration has started, driven by growing demand from the community.
As interest in AI-related ecosystems continues to rise, TAO stands out for its decentralised approach to building and coordinating intelligence networks. Supporting it natively aligns with THORChain’s ethos of open and permissionless access, while positioning the protocol to capture activity from a rapidly emerging sector.
ADR-023: Adjusting RUNE Supply
A large portion of the current supply sits in the Reserve and is no longer expected to be used. This creates an inflated fully diluted valuation that does not reflect the actual circulating supply.
To address this, the proposal introduces a significant “burn” of Reserve-held RUNE. The goal is to align total supply more closely with what is effectively circulating.
Once implemented, total supply is expected to decrease to around 360M RUNE, making it nearly equivalent to the circulating supply. This will give investors and traders a more realistic basis for the project valuation.
POL Reserve Mechanism
Discussions around ADR-024 and merge request 4709 introduce new mechanisms for Protocol-Owned Liquidity. The goal is to allow THORChain to use its own liquidity more efficiently and generate additional fees.
Concretely, this introduces a new POL Reserve mechanism. A configurable share of protocol income is allocated to this reserve, which then automatically deploys RUNE into the highest-performing pools based on fee generation.
This creates a system that continuously reallocates capital to where it is most productive, helping deepen liquidity and improve capital efficiency without requiring manual intervention.
ADR-025: Dev Fund Transition
ADR-025 proposes migrating the Dev Fund from the Nine Realms-controlled address to a new multisig managed by key ecosystem contributors.
The multisig will be operated by Son of Odin (THORChain), Aaluxx (Maya Protocol) and mazze (THORWallet) with funds used to support ongoing network operations such as development and infrastructure costs.
Ongoing Work from Previous Quarter
Work is also continuing on several initiatives highlighted in the previous quarterly report THORChain Q4 2025 Ecosystem Report & Roadmap.
This includes the transition to DKLS threshold signatures, as well as ongoing developments around intents, opt-in chain clients, and custom affiliate payouts.
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