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THORChain restores most cross-chain swaps after outage bug as RUNE rallies

THORChain has resumed swaps across most external networks following an outage caused by an Ethereum reorganization bug, while node operators face scrutiny over potential illicit fund flows.

A 24-hour price chart showing THORChain's RUNE token up 13.74% at $0.6292, next to the THORChain logo.
Image: @BSCNews

Cross-chain liquidity protocol THORChain has brought swaps back online across most of its supported blockchains following an outage triggered by a refund bug. Network data indicates that trading resumed on Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Zcash before noon Eastern Time on Nov. 3, followed by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron later in the day. BSCNews reported that 10 of the protocol's 13 listed external networks were operational again, while BNB Smart Chain, Cosmos Hub, and Solana remained paused.[3][5][2]

The shutdown originated on Oct. 31 when a one-block Ethereum reorganization tripped a refund bug involving a double refund of 10 ETH. The incident temporarily froze cross-chain trading, which had also held up the movement of assets stolen in a Binance hack by North Korean cyber actors.[1][3][5]

The restart arrived amid warnings from Pangolin Intelligence founder Jonty, who argued in a podcast recorded Nov. 2 that node operators voting to re-enable swaps would be doing so knowingly expecting North Korea to launder billions of dollars. THORChain's official account reiterated that independent nodes decide to re-enable chains when deemed safe and stated that no single developer or entity controls the network.[3][6]

Following the resumption of trading, THORChain's native token RUNE rallied into the $0.63 range, registering 24-hour gains between 9.7% and 13.7% across market trackers.[2][4][5]

Key facts

  • THORChain restored swaps on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Zcash on Nov. 3.
  • Swaps on BNB Smart Chain, Cosmos Hub, and Solana remained paused after the restart.
  • The halt began after an Oct. 31 Ethereum block reorganization triggered a refund bug involving a 10 ETH double refund.
  • Pangolin Intelligence founder Jonty stated node operators voting to re-enable swaps would do so knowingly expecting North Korea to launder stolen funds.
  • THORChain stated that node operators decide when chains are safe to re-enable and that no single entity controls the protocol.
  • THORChain's RUNE token climbed roughly 10% to 14% to trade near $0.63 following the restart.

Sources · 6 sources

  1. AI

    Analytics Insight@analyticsinmePost on X ·

    𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 पर 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧-𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐦 स्वैप शुरू, यूजर्स को बड़ी राहत 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 ने नए सॉफ्टवेयर अपडेट के बाद कई नेटवर्क पर कारोबार बहाल कर दिया है। जानिए 𝟏𝟎 𝐄𝐓𝐇 के दोहरे रिफंड की वजह से स्वैप क्यों रुके थे और 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 हैक से इसका क्या संबंध है। #THORChain #THORChainSwaps #BinanceHack #Bitcoin #Ethereum #CryptoNews #DeFi #Monero #AnalyticsInsightNews https://t.co/glYwKahiv8

    Open source
  2. CT

    Coin TelegraphArticle ·

    RUNE rallies 15% as THORChain restarts most swaps after halt THORChain has restored trading on Bitcoin, Ethereum and several other networks following a refund bug, while three chains remain paused.

    Open source
  3. UN

    UnchainedArticle ·

    THORChain Restarts Most Swaps After Analyst Said Operators Would Expect North Korea to Launder THORChain had switched swaps back on for most of the chains halted after an Oct. 31 Ethereum reorg, according to the network’s own THORNode data, read at 3:50 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 . As Unchained reported Nov. 2 , the halt, which began when a one-block Ethereum reorg tripped a refund bug, also held up North Korean hackers moving funds stolen from Binance . The /inbound_addresses endpoint of THORChain’s public node API, read at past block heights, shows trading came back on Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin and Zcash between about 11:36 and 11:43 a.m. ET, on Bitcoin at about 12:09 p.m. ET and on Ethereum and Tron at about 2:58 p.m. ET. BNB Smart Chain was still halted at 3:50 p.m. ET, as were Cosmos Hub and Solana , which node data shows had been halted since before the reorg. Unchained found no announcement of the restart from THORChain by then. On an Unchained episode recorded Nov. 2, while 10 chains were still halted, Jonty , founder of Pangolin Intelligence , who posts as tanuki42, said that node operators were “going to have to vote to upgrade the protocol and switch it back on.” An operator who voted yes, he said, would be “knowingly doing so,” in anticipation that North Korea would use THORChain to launder “literally like billions of dollars” of stolen money. He added that he “wouldn’t vote for that to happen.” Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . THORChain’s Position THORChain’s official account posted on Nov. 1 that “nodes will decide to re-enable chains as they are deemed safe.” In a Nov. 2 post , it said that “there is no single developer or entity in control of THORChain.” Co-founder Chad Barraford wrote on Oct. 31 that “THORNode operators have zero information that isn’t already public and readily available in real time,” as the FBI asked THORNode operators and others to block addresses tied to the hackers. Fellow co-founder JP Thor posted on Nov. 1 that operators who are uncomfortable can leave and others can join, and that “nobody knows who the full set of THORNodes are.” The Binance Link Jonty also disputed a Nov. 2 post from Arkham saying the Binance hacker had been spotted depositing to Binance. That post has since been deleted. Arkham had traced funds through THORChain’s Asgard vaults to the traders who arbitrage against them, he said. “A lot of those arbers use Binance for liquidity,” he added. “It’s a mischaracterization to say that funds are directly being laundered through Binance in that scenario,” he said. Onchain analyst SomaXBT made the same point in a reply to Arkham, writing that the flagged address was “the Thorchain Asgard Vault,” and that “those Binance deposits were paid by Thorchain accounts” rather than by the hacker. Jonty said whether Binance keeps supplying that liquidity is an open question. “I imagine that’s a debate that’s being had internally at Binance,” he said. Asked how much THORChain activity is laundering, he said that on the days of most hacks he attributed to TraderTraitor, the FBI’s name for the North Korean group, including those on Bitget, LayerZero and WazirX, “99%-plus of the volume through THORChain on those given days” was “people laundering money on behalf of North Korea.” He said he did not know the share over all time, though he imagined it was still the vast majority. The figure is his estimate; he cited no dataset, and Unchained found none that measures it. THORChain’s Nov. 1 post gave no date for reopening the chains that remain halted. Related Listen: How North Korea Stole $6.3 Billion From Binance in 20 Minutes The post THORChain Restarts Most Swaps After Analyst Said Operators Would Expect North Korea to Launder appeared first on Unchained .

    Open source
  4. CO

    CoinGecko@coingeckoPost on X ·

    INSIGHT: $RUNE is up 9.7% today after resuming cross-chain swaps across major blockchains following a recent outage. https://t.co/LJtZItWcGG

    Open source
  5. BS

    BSCN@BSCNewsPost on X ·

    RUNE Surges as THORChain Recovers From Ethereum Incident Thorchain (@THORChain) Brings Most Swaps Back Online After Weekend Halt. THORChain's $RUNE token has climbed around 13.7% in 24 hours, trading near $0.63. The protocol has restored swaps across 10 of its 13 listed external networks. Bitcoin $BTC, Ethereum (@ethereum) $ETH, Litecoin (@litecoin) $LTC, Dogecoin (@dogecoin) $DOGE and several other networks are operational again. BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) $BNB, Cosmos Hub (@cosmoshub) $ATOM and Solana (@solana) $SOL still show warnings for trading and transaction signing. The network halted swaps after an Ethereum block reorganization exposed a refund bug.

    Open source
  6. LS

    Laura Shin@laurashinPost on X ·

    BREAKING: Before THORChain restarted Bitcoin and Ether swaps, Pangolin Intelligence founder Jonty said in an Unchained episode recorded Nov. 2 that any node operator voting to switch it back on would be doing so "knowingly," expecting North Korea to launder billions. THORNode data shows Bitcoin, Ether and Tron swaps running again on Nov. 3. https://t.co/XvTs8wNHtX

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