The popular decentralized liquidity swap protocol, ThorChain, is determined to add its final DeFi feature as part of its projects this year. The network has had amazing growth this past year, growing in almost all parameters. Its developers are taking that energy into 2023, intending to upgrade the network and add new features, with the last of them for the year being robust lending and borrowing capabilities.
In 2022, ThorChain gained a 240% increase in total locked value, growing from 64.3 million RUNE in 2021 to over 154 million RUNE in 2022. Its swap count also blew up, moving from just over a million swaps in 2021 to 8.2 million swaps in the same period last year.Â
This increase in swap value is mostly due to its integration with other popular chains such as Dogecoin, Terra, and Avalanche, among others. It also built a custom DEX aggregator, enabling users to make faster transactions by using several blockchains to complete transactions at once. The DEX aggregator takes away the hassle of having to trade low-liquidity assets multiple times on different blockchains.Â
In addition to DEX aggregation, ThorChain is also integrated with two new wallets, Edge Wallet and Trust Wallet. The former has dual functionality, allowing users to make cross-chain swaps and also supply single-asset liquidity to ThorChain via Savers Vaults. Trust Wallet, on the other hand, does not have Savers Vault functionality.Â
In 2023, ThorChain plans to do even more. On the very top of its list of goals is integration with more wallets. ThorChain is bound to gain more reach when it integrates with new wallets.Â
ThorChain not only intends to invite more DEXs to integrate with its DEX Aggregator, but it also intends to make it appealing enough for centralized exchanges to consider. It also plans to raise the cap of its total synthetic asset pool, which is currently at 30 percent. Nonetheless, the additional 20% increment it plans will be heavily dependent on a positive response from its users.Â
Furthermore, plans to integrate with the Binance Smart Chain are already underway, and with positive votes from users, it will embark on integration projects with other blockchains. After making a couple of other improvements, ThorChain’s final jig will be the introduction of a new feature: lending and borrowing.Â
This feature will allow users to borrow DeFi assets using collateral from any supported Layer 1 asset without liquidation, expiry date, or even interest. As of now, this feature is under beta development and requires a final node vote to be implemented.
