What Is Thorchain?
Thorchain is a DeFi platform that lets users easily swap cryptocurrencies. They can make swaps across a range of networks and don’t need to provide personal information or give up custody of their assets in the process.
The platform is fully decentralised as the swapping happens through liquidity pools. Anyone can deposit their crypto assets into the liquidity pools in order to earn a passive income in the form of swap fees and system rewards.
RUNE is the utility token of the platform and is essential for securing the network and providing economic incentives. As well as providing governance rights, RUNE is paired with all the other assets in the liquidity pools to enable swaps to be made easily. Without RUNE acting as a settlement asset, every cryptocurrency would have to be paired with every other cryptocurrency, meaning many more pools and much less liquidity in each.
RUNE is also the currency used to pay transactions fees on swaps. These fees, along with protocol emissions, are used to reward liquidity providers.
Ways to Invest in Thorchain
Different people may choose to invest in Thorchain in different ways. RUNE can lend itself to both short-term and long-term investing, and which you opt for is simply a matter of preference.
Buy and hold Thorchain
Buying and holding is an easy strategy to follow and involves exactly what the name implies. No special skills are required for this strategy and it can potentially generate good returns without a big time commitment or any detailed analysis.
One of the advantages of holding onto RUNE for the long term is that you can lock it into Thorchain liquidity pools to generate a passive income as well.
Best Thorchain wallets
Long-term investors may want to set up their own private wallet to store their RUNE, instead of relying on a centralised service for access to their tokens. Private wallets can also provide an extra layer of security.
Software wallets tend to be free, user-friendly and can be downloaded for computers or mobile devices. Another option is hardware devices, like Trezor, BitBox, or Ledger, which can be expensive but provide the best possible security.
Trade Thorchain
Traders can also make a profit from RUNE. They buy and sell it much more often than investors so as to generate returns more frequently. However, this requires more time and skill as traders often have to analyse the market to identify the best times to buy and sell.
Transferring tokens from a private wallet every time you want to make a trade can be time-consuming and costly. This is why traders often prefer to store their tokens in the free web wallet provided by their exchange where they can be accessed easily.
Should I Buy Thorchain Now?
This is something you will have to decide for yourself based on the available information. RUNE has a capped maximum supply and it’s possible this in-built scarcity could make the token a good long-term store of value.
Node operators must lock up a significant amount of RUNE, while the token is also required for providing liquidity, paying fees, and participating in governance. All of these sources of demand could be positive for RUNE price.
The economic design of Thorchain means that if 80% of RUNE is locked up in liquidity pools, the token’s market cap should be at least three times the value of all the other assets locked into Thorchain.
The price of RUNE is likely to benefit from the success of Thorchain. The project’s claims of eliminating the risk of impermanent loss have already seen it attract a strong following. As Thorchain adds support for new assets and more blockchains, it could appeal to yet more users and carve out a space for itself in the booming sector of DeFi.
