THORChain Restarts Most Swaps While 14 Nodes Await Upgrade

Decentralized liquidity network THORChain has resumed the majority of its cross-chain swap operations, even as 14 validator nodes on the network have yet to complete a required software upgrade ¹.

Despite the broader resumption of services across the protocol, specific networks remain subject to operational limitations ¹. THORChain has kept trading and outbound-signing restrictions active for Cosmos Hub, BNB Smart Chain, and Solana ($SOL) ¹. Outbound-signing functions are responsible for releasing native assets from THORChain vault addresses back to connected blockchains once an exchange execution is finalized.

Network Constraints Persist

The phased reopening leaves users unable to complete full end-to-end swaps involving the three constrained networks ¹. THORChain operates as an automated market maker across disparate Layer 1 blockchains, relying on a distributed set of validators to observe external transactions and sign multi-party compute transactions on destination chains. While most supported chains have resumed normal processing, the 14 remaining unupgraded nodes stand as an operational hurdle during the rollout ¹.

The selective freeze follows previous protocol disruptions where network activity required partial halts ¹. Earlier service restorations on the protocol, such as when THORChain Restores Swaps for Most Chains After Outage Interrupted North Korean Laundering, similarly addressed chain-by-chain risk before restoring standard operations. Protocol developers have not published a formal timetable for when node operators will finish the update or when the restrictions on Cosmos Hub, BNB Chain, and Solana will be removed ¹. At the time of writing, the broader crypto market remains under pressure, with $BTC trading at $76,703 and $ETH at $2,259.