THORChain Lending Protocol Launch Driving RUNE Prices Higher

Cross-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) THORChain is strengthening fundamentally with recently facilitated functionality driving adoption and usage. Furthermore, streaming swaps on THORSwap appear to be pushing RUNE prices higher as they defy the broader crypto market. 

Streaming Swaps launched on THORSwap earlier this month to provide price optimization for trades and token swaps. 

THORChain Streaming Swaps and Lending

Streaming Swaps break up cross-chain trades into smaller parts that are executed over a longer period of time.

Previously, low slippage was achieved by carrying out multiple manual swaps. However, this led to high gas fees and more work. Streaming Swaps let users make one transaction which is sent to THORChain to manage the process and achieve the best price. 

On Aug. 20, DeFi researcher “Hercules DeFi” said that whales have started to use them for larger swaps. The largest ever swap made was 3,150 ETH for 2,482,348 RUNE, worth nearly $3.65 million, he added. 

Additionally, THORChain’s volume has also been on an uptrend for the past few days. This has been driving momentum for RUNE which has been lulling over 90% down from its peak for months. 

He added that another reason for RUNE’s uptrend is the anticipation of a THORChain Lending Protocol. This offers several benefits, such as no liquidations, expirations, or KYC requirements. 

On Aug. 21 THORSwap announced the Lending Protocol was live, offering BTC and ETH lending with zero interest. 

The amount users can borrow depends on the Collateralization Ratio (CR) which ranges from 200% to 500%, it said before adding: 

“When a THORChain loan is opened, the collateral provided is swapped to RUNE and the difference between the collateral value and the loan value is burned. This benefits THORChain such that there’s no need for liquidations or interest.”

THORChain RUNE Prices Surging 

Moreover, in late July, Delphi Digital published a report on THORChain fundamentals. Since its release, RUNE prices have skyrocketed 83%, defying the rest of the market, which has tanked. 

RUNE has dropped 3% on the day in a fall to $1.69 at the time of writing. 

However, it has gained a whopping 80% over the past fortnight, rising from less than a dollar to a 6-month peak of $1.88 in early Asian trading on Monday.

RUNE remains down 92% from its May 2021 all-time high of $20.87, so there is plenty of room to potentially grow.