Thorchain has passed a turbulent start until 2025, because the Layer 1 network was confronted with assembly macro -economic pressure, internal network challenges and the shifting of altcoin sentiment. After a volatile end until 2024, Thorchain’s native token, Rune, suffered a sharp correction in Q1 2025 and the quarter ended at $ 1.14, with 74.5% quarter-over quartaal (QOQ).
This performed significantly educated digital assets, where Bitcoin and Ethereum fell by 12.6% and 45.5% respectively. The market capitalization of Rune fell by 73.8% in the same period, because it dropped from $ 1.5 billion to $ 400.9 million, the lowest level since mid -2022.
Thorchain’s USD TVL drops 50%
According to the latest report from Messari, the slump in the value of Rune has heavily influenced Thorchain’s Defi -footprint, because the total value locked (TVL) in USD conditions fell by 50.5%, from $ 368.6 million to $ 181.1 million by the end of the quarter. TVL had reached a peak on 2 January at $ 367.7 million, before he was put in the step with the falling price of Rune.
Despite the steep losses in USD terms, the native participation at the Thorchain ecosystem remained strong. In fact, Rune-Mixed TVL climbed 93.2% QoQ, after an increase from 82.2 million to 158.8 million Rune.
Messari said that the figure pointed to the growing user activity and confidence in the Multichain liquidity infrastructure of the protocol, even in the midst of volatile prices.
Thorchain Swap Volumes Dip
SWAP activity, however, has painted a more muted image. The average daily SWAP volume fell by 24.4% QoQ to $ 68.8 million, as a result of which the momentum of the previous quarter reversed and continued a downward trend of the daily average of $ 218.4 million that was seen at the beginning of January.
A remarkable exception took place on March 2, when Thorchain processed a record of $ 1.05 billion in Swaps in one day. This abnormal peak followed the Bybit exploit, while attackers used the protocol to convert stolen ETH into BTC. Although this weekly transit figures blown up, it did not change the broader decline of organic activity.
Data on the chain also showed a decrease in user involvement, with the average number of daily swappers 14.5% QOQ decreased to 1,780. However, the use remained widely spread over portfolios and affiliated companies, which indicated that although the total volume fell, the infrastructure of the protocol continued to support a broad basis of participants.
“The continuing participation reflects the continuous role of the protocol as a backend -settlement layer for Multichain -Waps, even as wider market volatility and the price decrease of Rune weighed on user activity.”
