What Is THORChain (RUNE)?
THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that allows users to easily exchange cryptocurrency assets across a range of networks including Bitcoin and Ethereum without losing full custody of their assets in the process.
With THORChain, users can simply swap one asset for another in a permissionless setting, without needing to rely on order books to source liquidity. Instead, market prices are maintained through the ratio of assets in a pool (see automated market maker).
The native utility token of the THORChain platform is RUNE. This is used as the base currency in the THORChain ecosystem and is also used for platform governance and security as part of THORChain's Sybil resistance mechanisms — since THORChain nodes must commit a minimum of 300k RUNE to participate in its rotating consensus process.