DeFi Exchange THORSwap Resumes, Boosting THORChain’s RUNE by 8%

THORChain‘s native cryptocurrency, RUNE, experienced an impressive 8% surge as THORSwap, its primary exchange, reinitiated its trading activities. Last week, trading on THORSwap was halted due to concerns related to the flow of funds from the November 2022 FTX exploit. However, during this pause, features like lending, staking, and borrowing were kept active.

THORSwap is grounded in the assets housed on THORChain. This layer-1 blockchain is tailored for seamless interaction across a multitude of blockchains, acting as a liquidity source for executing cross-chain transactions.

With the relaunch of trading, THORSwap introduced modifications to its “terms of service”. They incorporated additional measures to stop the transfer of unlawful funds and ensure adherence to legal requirements. Despite these measures, RUNE witnessed a declining trend since the halt of trading on THORSwap, falling by 27% from $2.03 to a mere $1.48. This trend reversed positively just before the exchange’s announcement yesterday.

THORSwap is back online! Please resume your regularly scheduled swapping of over 5,500 assets across 10 blockchains, right from your own self-custody wallet.

What's changed? Other than the shiny new terms of service, users won't notice a thing. Behind the scenes, we've partnered…

— THORSwap ⚡ #BetterThanCEX (@THORSwap) October 12, 2023

The announcement also positively impacted THOR, THORSwap’s governance token, pushing it up by 11.5%. Following this, trading volumes channeled through THORChain surged, recording $62 million on Thursday. This was a significant jump, especially after the trading volumes had dipped below $30 million in the previous days, according to THORChain Explorer’s data.

Enhanced Security on THORSwap

Amidst concerns regarding unlawful blockchain funds, THORSwap revamped its terms, prohibiting users from nations under U.S. sanctions. The platform’s management declared their collaboration with a “front-runner in the industry” to integrate these enhanced security features. It’s worth noting that Ethereum‘s decentralized exchange, Uniswap, employs a similar approach to flag potential financial misconduct. In April 2022, to scrutinize and halt transactions possibly connected to illicit dealings, the top DEX allied with investigation company TRM Labs. Emphasizing the platform’s commitment, a representative from THORSwap remarked, “THORSwap now aligns with other industry-leading DEX platforms, including Uniswap, 1inch, Pancakeswap, and several others.”

However, this change did spark some debate. Critics argue that these stringent regulations undermine the core essence of decentralization. In response to THORSwap’s announcement, Matt Ahlborg, a crypto analyst, commented that such sweeping restrictions are problematic as they unfairly impact “countless innocent individuals”. A counterargument was presented by a THORChain enthusiast, stating that individuals in sanctioned nations have other platform alternatives besides THORSwap. They highlighted the fact that THORSwap originates from “a U.S.-based team” and has to “adhere to the law”.

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