Evaluating New Chains

Before integrating a new Layer 1 blockchain into THORChain, contributors must evaluate its economic value, technical risk, and long-term viability. This guide outlines the criteria used to assess whether a chain is a good fit for the protocol.

Why Chain Selection Matters

Connecting to an L1 exposes THORChain to:

  • Economic risk (e.g. infinite mint bugs, poor LP performance)
  • Technical instability (e.g. sync issues, halts, invalid outbound behavior)
  • Ongoing costs (dev time, node ops, subsidy maintenance)

To protect the network, only high-quality chains with sustainable adoption and technical maturity should be considered.

Evaluation Criteria

All chains should be assessed across the following five dimensions:

1. Decentralization

  • ❌ Must not be controlled by a single entity
  • ❌ Must not be pausable by a multisig of <10 signers
  • ✅ If PoS, should have >10 active validators

2. Ossification

  • ✅ Must be at least 2 years old (from genesis)
  • ✅ Must not hard fork more than once every 6 months

3. Economic Value

  • ✅ FDV ≥ 10% of THORChain's FDV
  • ✅ 24h volume ≥ 10% of $RUNE's volume
  • ⏱ If PoW, a $1,000 swap must not require more than 1 hour for confirmations

4. Developer and Node Support

  • ✅ Must have a working node implementation
  • ✅ Must have an open-source JS/TS client or SDK
  • ✅ Must demonstrate organic developer activity

5. Community Reach

  • ✅ Must serve a user base ≥10% of THORChain’s active user count
  • ✅ Should be integrated into existing DEXs or DeFi protocols

Risks of Poor Chain Selection

A low-quality or unstable chain can:

  • Expose LPs to asset loss via protocol bugs
  • Disrupt THORNode operations (e.g. sync issues, outbound halts)
  • Require disproportionate developer maintenance
  • Provide little fee revenue relative to cost
  • Eventually require Ragnarok (chain removal)

Ongoing Chain Health

Chains must continue to meet the above standards after integration. If a chain becomes too centralized, inactive, or unprofitable, it may be removed.

Removal Criteria (must persist for ≥6 months)

  • Fails any of the standards listed above
  • Base asset pool depth drops below MINRUNEPOOLDEPTH
  • 24h swap volume < $1,000 for a full POOLCYCLE
  • LP count drops below 100

See Vault Behaviors and New Chain Process for how this is handled.