After a long dry spell, THORChain is back with a bang. A collective of experts is now addressing the security gaps in the platform.
The cross-chain swaps platform THORChain is back after weeks of horror – and how! Overnight, the in-house token RUNE rose by over 35 percent, making it one of the winners of today’s trading day. At press time, RUNE is valued at $ 5.67.
It didn’t look good for the DeFi project in the last few weeks. First, on July 15, hackers succeeded in stealing a total of US $ 5 million in ETH from the platform by means of an exploit. The network promised to work quickly on a solution and to reimburse the amount stolen. In the middle of the repair work, the second attack on THORChain – almost 8 million US dollars disappeared in ETH.
But the network was lucky. Because the attacker turned out to be a so-called “white hat”, ie a hacker who infiltrated systems with “good intentions” in order to point out weak points. As a rule, they then receive an “expense allowance”. In the case of THORChain, almost 10 percent of the stolen sum should have gone to the good-natured attacker.
Investors’ belief in the security of THORChain was massively shaken by the attacks, which is why the RUNE rate has continued to decline over the past few weeks – until recently to 3.03 US dollars. After a brief recovery to $ 4.78, the second attack caused the price to fall again, this time to $ 3.43. But now the outbreak.
“Code Walkthrough” of biblical proportions at THORChain
Of all things, the security issue is now likely to be the reason for the price breakout. THORChain reported via your own Twitter profile that you have been able to enter into more than 20 partnerships with external security companies, including specialists such as the bug bounty platform Immunefi or blockchain insurers Nexus Mutual. In a large-scale “White Hat” round, a “Code Walkthrough” was started yesterday, in which weak points in the network are to be found and closed. Not only the specialists from the security companies were involved, but also their communities.
THORChain promises rewards of up to $ 500,000 per vulnerability discovered. The campaign has already shown its first effects. So announced the platform that a first bug could be successfully reported and patched. The community member is said to have already received an expense allowance through Immunefi.
Investors seem to be rewarding the measures with substantial purchases. The crypto celebrities are also enthusiastic about the security efforts of THORChain. For example, Erik Voorhees from ShapeShift and Tom Shaughnessey from Delphi Digital support the DeFi project.
Time will tell how effectively the crypto collective can close the security loopholes. However, the steps taken are already bearing fruit in that they should bring the community back on board as a new trust-building foundation.