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Decentralized exchange

THORChain

Swap real Bitcoin for real Ethereum without wrapping or bridging.

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By the Orca Crypto teamUpdated 2026-09-28How we check this5 min read
The short answer

Swap real Bitcoin for real Ethereum without wrapping or bridging. THORChain settles natively on each chain. You send actual BTC and receive actual ETH, which removes the wrapped token risk entirely.

What it is

THORChain settles natively on each chain. You send actual BTC and receive actual ETH, which removes the wrapped token risk entirely.

PropertyDetail
Launched2021
ModelCross chain AMM with no wrapped tokens
ChainsNative Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Avalanche, Cosmos and more
CustodySelf custody. Your funds never leave your wallet until the swap executes
Account requiredNone. You connect a wallet

The RUNE token

LiveCoinGecko
Price
$0.7717
+6.07% 24h
Market cap
$253.60M
24h volume
$203.26M
Rank
#165

Prices as of September 29, 2026, replaced by live figures as the page loads. Prices move constantly and are for orientation only.

A governance token is not the exchange, and holding one is not required to use the other.

Using it safely

  1. Reach it from a bookmark

    Type the address or use a saved bookmark. Fake front ends served through search ads are the single most common way wallets get drained.

  2. Check the network

    Your wallet and the site must be on the same chain, or your balance will appear to be zero.

  3. Verify the token contract

    For anything other than a household name, paste the contract address from an official source rather than picking from a search list.

  4. Set slippage tight

    0.1 to 0.5 percent on major pairs. If a token demands far more, that is information about the token.

  5. Approve the exact amount

    Avoid unlimited approvals where the interface lets you choose. Review old ones periodically.

  6. Read the transaction on an explorer

    Every time, at first. It builds the instinct that catches problems later.

What it costs

Two separate costs apply to every swap, and beginners often only notice one.

  • The pool fee, typically 0.01 to 1 percent depending on the pair and the tier. This goes to liquidity providers.
  • Network gas, which depends entirely on which chain you are on and has nothing to do with the DEX.

On Ethereum mainnet gas usually dominates. On Base or Solana it effectively disappears, and the pool fee is the whole cost.

Honest risk assessment

  • Smart contract risk. Even audited, heavily used contracts have been exploited before.
  • You are responsible for every approval you grant, and they persist until revoked.
  • There is no support, no reversal and no recovery for a mistake.
  • Prices come from pools, so thin liquidity means severe price impact on larger trades.
  • Anyone can list any token. A matching name and logo proves nothing.

Other places to make the same trade

Routing differs, fees differ, and the pool you get filled from differs. These cover the same ground.

Where to go next

First time on THORChain?

We can walk through it live, on a cheap network, so the first swap you do alone is actually your second.

Common questions

How can I swap real Bitcoin without wrapping it?
THORChain runs vaults on each supported chain and settles between them, so native BTC leaves one vault and native ETH leaves another. You never hold a wrapped representation.
What is the risk in that design?
The vaults hold real assets and are secured by bonded node operators. It has been exploited before, in 2021, and the design has been hardened since. It remains more complex than a single chain swap.
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