Should You Buy THORChain in 2025?

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At HelloSafe, our expert has been monitoring the development of the THORChain cryptocurrency for over three years. Every month, hundreds of thousands of users across Australia rely on us to analyse market trends and identify the best investment opportunities. Our analyses are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. In line with our ethical charter, HelloSafe has never purchased THORChain nor received any compensation from entities associated with its ecosystem.

THORChain in brief

How much does 1 THORChain cost?

The price of THORChain is on the rise this week. At present, RUNE trades at approximately A$2.44, marking a 24-hour gain of +3.08% and reflecting continued movement after recent market shifts. Over the past week, its value has shown notable fluctuations, consistent with current trends in the Australian crypto market. THORChain’s market capitalisation sits near A$869 million, with a three-month average daily trading volume of about A$107–115 million. With a circulating supply of roughly 351 million tokens, RUNE currently ranks among the top 90 cryptocurrencies and represents 0.051% of the total crypto market value. This persistent volatility offers both risk and opportunity for Aussie investors seeking exposure to innovative DeFi assets.

Our complete opinion on the cryptocurrency THORChain

Have recent technical and on-chain rebounds positioned THORChain back at the forefront of the cross-chain DeFi sector after a turbulent year? Over the past three years, we've thoroughly examined THORChain’s evolution, fusing multi-source analysis — including bespoke technical signals, on-chain indicators, market data and peer benchmarking — within proprietary financial algorithms. So, why could THORChain emerge in 2025 once again as a strategic gateway to the next wave of decentralised liquidity?

Recent Performance and Market Context

Price Evolution and Market Dynamics

THORChain (RUNE) is trading at $1.62 USD as of June 8, 2025, reflecting both resilience and high beta within the volatile digital assets landscape. Recent price action includes:

• A +3.08% 24h move amid renewed optimism post-XRP integration,
• Strong volatility over the past six months, mirroring sectoral swings, and
• A full year of correction off 2024 highs, mainly attributed to early 2025 protocol and liquidity challenges.

This performance must be contextualised: while Total Value Locked (TVL) dipped 50.5% during Q1 2025, the strategic roadmap has proved adaptive. THORChain’s swift response to liquidity stress — including a 90-day recovery, plus fee incentives that retained over 91% of liquidity providers — has been favourably digested by the market.

Positive Events and Sector Tailwinds

Catalysts for recent recovery include:

• Ripple’s XRP Ledger integration (June 2025), unlocking cross-chain swaps with a $100B+ market cap ecosystem.
• Industry-wide price floor post-Bitcoin halving, creating positive momentum for DeFi tokens closely tied to L1 interoperability.
• Growing regulatory clarity and cautious return of institutional liquidity to DeFi, improving investor comfort.

The macro picture for crypto in 2025 is defined by global appetite for trusted, permissionless liquidity solutions, spurred by the increase in multichain DEX activity and user migration from custodial CEX platforms.

Technical Analysis

Indicator Suite (RSI, MACD, Moving Averages)

RUNE’s technical setup is constructive:

• RSI (14 days): 43.63 — neutral, emerging from oversold, indicative of potential upward inflection.
• MACD: Short-term “SELL” crossover, yet longer-term formation shows weakening bearish momentum as bulls defend key levels.
• Moving Averages: Importantly, the 50-day moving average has crossed and remains above the 200-day (golden cross), a classic bullish configuration rarely ignored by professional crypto desk traders.

Support & Resistance; Trend Structure

• Major Support: $1.54 held during liquidity crisis; forms a robust technical floor.
• Immediate Resistance: $1.66 — clean breakthrough here could pave the way towards the next major resistance at $2.09.
• Elliott Wave and volume pattern analysis suggest the ongoing recovery phase is not merely corrective, but instead, could mark the beginning of a trend reversal, especially if RUNE maintains above these supports through Q3 2025.

Momentum Outlook

The alignment of climbing long-term moving averages, plus evidence of accumulation by long-term holders and liquidity providers, establishes a risk/reward profile increasingly skewed to the upside should sentiment improve further.

Fundamental Analysis

Growing Adoption and Ecosystem Expansion

THORChain continues to consolidate its leadership in non-custodial, cross-chain DeFi:

• XRP Ledger integration: Sets a first-mover standard for interoperable swaps across $100B+ in capital, instantly distinguishing RUNE from other DeFi tokens still restricted to ERC-20/L1 operations.
• Developer Activity: Ongoing expansions to native BTC, ETH, and further L1s, supported by robust open-source development cycles.
• User/Provider Retention: With liquidity provider fee retention rates at 91.36%, the protocol has demonstrated resilient community loyalty, even in challenging times.

Relative Valuation

• Market Cap: $569-573 million — modest relative to its historic peak, and disproportionately low given the new strategic integrations.
• Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV): Attractive versus sector peers, factoring in max token supply (500 million RUNE) and forecasted protocol fee growth.
• TVL: Though Q1 saw a sharp decline (to $181.1 million), the mid-year pivot post-recovery plan signals robust upside as cross-chain activity ramps back up.

Structural Advantages

• Innovation: THORChain is one of the rare protocols enabling native asset swaps (not synthetics/wrapped tokens) between chains; this infrastructure moat will become harder to challenge as ecosystem integrations deepen.
• Security and Architecture: Built on Cosmos SDK with a non-custodial, censorship-resistant model — increasingly demanded in regulatory tightening environments.
• Network Effect: Active governance by RUNE holders, decentralized and globally distributed core team.

Volume, Liquidity and Positioning

• Volume: 3-month average daily volume of $70-75 million ensures ample liquidity for larger investors/traders, confirming market-wide confidence and robust price discovery mechanisms.
• Dominance: While not top 10 by cap, RUNE is now once again one of the leading assets for cross-chain DeFi, demonstrating greater developer and institutional interest as compared to less liquid, more speculative DeFi tokens.

Positive Catalysts on the Horizon

• New Integrations and Upgrades: The June 2025 XRP deployment is only the first in a pipeline of planned Layer 1/DeFi integrations.
• Growing Multi-chain DeFi Adoption: Market appetite for truly interoperable, non-custodial swaps continues to accelerate at the protocol level.
• Favourable Regulatory and Institutional Flows: Heightened core infrastructure value in light of ongoing DEX/CEX regulatory shakeouts in multiple jurisdictions.
• Protocol Recovery Momentum: Q2/Q3 2025 recovery plan has restored community and market confidence, now enabling RUNE to fully participate in DeFi’s next growth surge.

Investment Strategies: Opportunities Across Time Horizons

Short Term (Active Trading/Positioning)

• Current consolidation near strong support at $1.54 creates a favourable tactical entry for investors seeking breakouts on confirmed XRP flows and forthcoming protocol upgrades.
• Technical signals suggest a completed bottoming process; a push above $1.66 would likely invite additional momentum traders.

Medium Term (3-12 months)

• Recovery from TVL and liquidity troughs, plus renewed ecosystem excitement around multi-chain swaps, present clear positive asymmetry for medium-term position building.
• Ideal for those looking to front-run increased DeFi developer adoption and upcoming Layer 1 integrations before the broader market prices in full recovery.

Long Term (1-5 years)

• THORChain’s “first-mover” advantage, scalable security, and high-level integration with Cosmos and external Layer 1s create a compelling fundamental backdrop for long-term upside.
• Investors with multi-year horizons benefit from possible compounded network effects as RUNE cements itself as the de facto non-custodial cross-chain infrastructure.

Optimal Positioning

• Accumulating RUNE on technical pullbacks — especially in the $1.54–$1.66 zone — while monitoring trade/volume surges around major protocol upgrades allows for highly efficient risk/reward stacking.
• Advanced investors could also increase exposure ahead of planned protocol milestones and major exchange listing events.

THORChain Price Projections (2025–2029)

Is Now the Right Time to Consider THORChain?

In summary, THORChain stands out with its unique cross-chain architecture, strategic Layer 1 integrations (notably XRP), and an ecosystem primed for renewed TVL and liquidity growth. Despite a challenging start to 2025, the protocol has displayed fortitude and a demonstrated capacity for recovery. The future catalysts — especially new integrations and the sector’s pivot towards non-custodial finance — position RUNE as an attractive contender versus peers still reliant on wrapped solutions or single-chain ecosystems.

From a market structure, volume and momentum standpoint, THORChain’s fundamentals justify renewed investor interest. While the landscape remains volatile, all signals indicate RUNE could well be entering a new bullish phase, offering significantly asymmetric return potential in the current cycle.

For investors seeking exposure to the cross-chain DeFi renaissance, THORChain seems to represent an excellent opportunity. Its network resilience, technical setup and innovation dynamics support the case for considering RUNE as a core holding for the coming years — with a close eye on protocol milestones and evolving macro conditions. Ultimately, THORChain remains a high-volatility asset offering dynamic entry points, but its most recent reversal and ecosystem expansion demonstrate just how rapidly this protocol can regain investor favour. Key levels to monitor include $1.54 as structural support and $2.09 as major resistance; the forthcoming Layer 1 integrations and protocol upgrades expected in late 2025 could act as major inflection points for price and adoption.

How to buy THORChain?

It’s simple and secure to buy the cryptocurrency THORChain (RUNE) online via a regulated platform, using AUD. Investors in Australia have two main options: direct spot purchase, where you fully own RUNE and can withdraw it to your wallet; or crypto CFDs, where you trade on its price movement without actually holding the coin. Each method has its pros and cons for flexibility, fees, and risk. For a clear overview of the best platforms for both methods, you’ll find a detailed comparison further down the page.

Spot Purchase

Buying THORChain (RUNE) “on the spot” means owning the actual coins, which are stored securely in your wallet (on the platform, or ideally in your own private wallet). You pay a fixed commission per transaction, often between 0.1% and 1%, plus a small network fee if you withdraw.

Example: Spot Purchase

If RUNE trades at $1.62 USD (~$2.43 AUD as of June 2025) and you invest $1,000 AUD, you can buy around 411 RUNE tokens (after approx. $5 AUD in fees). Potential upside: If the RUNE price rises by 10%, your position is worth $1,100 AUD. That’s a $100 gain (before tax)—a clear, straightforward 10% return as the coins appreciate.

Trading with CFDs

Trading THORChain via CFDs (Contracts for Difference) allows you to speculate on RUNE’s price with leverage, but without ever owning the coin. Instead, you take a position with a broker—profits and losses mirror the price change. Costs include the spread (the broker’s built-in margin between buy/sell) and, if you hold overnight, a daily funding fee.

Example: CFD Trading

With a $1,000 AUD deposit and 5x leverage, you gain $5,000 of exposure to RUNE. Potential upside: If RUNE rises by 8%, your position would return 8% × 5 = 40%—that’s a $400 AUD profit on your initial $1,000, excluding fees. Remember, losses are magnified the same way.

Final Advice

Always compare the fees, features, and security of each platform before investing. Your choice should reflect your experience, your approach to risk, and whether you value direct ownership or prefer leveraged trading. To help you decide, consult our comprehensive platform comparison available lower on this page.

Our 7 tips for buying THORChain

The latest news from THORChain

XRP Ledger integration completed on June 5, 2025, now enables native XRP cross-chain swaps.
This major advancement allows users in Australia to directly swap XRP natively via THORChain without wrapped tokens, opening access to over $100 billion in market cap and facilitating seamless movement between XRP and other supported assets. The addition is expected to boost liquidity and utility on the protocol, as XRP has a significant user base in the Asia-Pacific region—including active adoption within Australian crypto trading communities—known to favor both XRP and decentralized swap options. Native integrations such as this further reinforce THORChain’s position as a cross-chain leader and add value for local users seeking secure, permissionless interoperability.

THORChain’s technical outlook reflects renewed bullish momentum, with key indicators signaling potential for price recovery.
As of June 8, 2025, the token trades at $1.62, up 3.08% over 24 hours, and benefits from a 50-day moving average above the 200-day (indicative of a bullish trend). The 200-day MA has started sloping upward, and while the RSI is neutral, Elliott Wave analysis suggests a possible medium-term bullish reversal. Such signals are echoed by Australian technical analysts and traders who regularly reference THORChain’s MAs and RSI as part of broader regional sentiment, especially on leading local exchanges where RUNE is actively traded.

THORChain successfully completed a 90-day recovery plan after its January 2025 liquidity crisis, restoring key operational metrics.
The protocol’s swift response—including the temporary suspension and later reactivation of THORFi services—demonstrates resilience and effective crisis management, an aspect closely followed by the Australian investment community given the importance of transparent risk controls in the wake of global DeFi challenges. Despite a sharp Q1 correction and notable declines in TVL and protocol liquidity, the impact has been contained and constructive recovery measures have been maintained, supporting a cautiously optimistic market stance locally.

Australian investors gain from easy access to RUNE via major exchanges and benefit from THORChain’s innovative non-custodial architecture.
RUNE is widely available on prominent Australian platforms, enabling local investors to trade, stake, and earn rewards securely. The non-custodial, cross-chain liquidity protocol—built on the Cosmos SDK—aligns strongly with the preferences of advanced Australian crypto users, known for their emphasis on decentralization, security, and technical sophistication. RUNE’s staking model and strong retention of liquidity provider fees (over 91% in Q1) further increase appeal to the yield-seeking segment of Australia’s DeFi community.

Cross-chain DeFi expansion and ongoing ecosystem development position THORChain for sustained growth in the Australian market.
Australia’s progressive regulatory stance on digital assets and its early adoption of decentralized finance solutions set a favorable backdrop for THORChain’s strategic expansion, especially with the recent XRP integration and future native Bitcoin/Ethereum cross-chain initiatives. The sector’s projected growth and THORChain’s first-mover advantage in native cross-chain swaps underpin a positive outlook; these factors are recognized by Australian market analysts as key drivers for sustained engagement and institutional partnership potential in the region.

FAQ

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.

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