THORChain Upgrade Powers Native Monero Swaps with Bitcoin and Ethereum

The THORChain protocol has rolled out an upgrade to its decentralized exchange platform, enabling native Monero and Zcash swaps for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. This means users can now trade XMR and ZEC without touching a centralized exchange or dealing with wrapped token workarounds.

Version 3.20 of the THORChain protocol introduces two notable features: Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL), which gives the protocol itself a stake in its own liquidity pools, and Stable Reserve, a mechanism that enables fee-free stablecoin swaps.

The upgrade is seen as a significant development for privacy tokens, which have been steadily delisted from centralized exchanges under regulatory pressure. By providing a way to trade these coins directly on a decentralized exchange, THORChain is offering a lifeline to holders who were previously forced to use workarounds or risk losing access to their funds.

However, the team behind THORChain has acknowledged that liquidity for XMR and ZEC pools will likely be thin at the outset, leading to higher slippage on larger trades. As such, users may want to exercise caution when trading these coins in the short term.