This is the second in a 7-part series, "The Friendly Introduction to THORChain".
This is the second in a 7-part series, "The Friendly Introduction to THORChain". Subscribe to be notified when the next chapter is released.
In part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of decentralization over centralization (and decentralized services over centralized services), and gave a brief introduction to THORChain.
In this video, we'll discuss what swapping assets on THORChain looks like today.
Before THORChain, the only way to swap between cryptoassets on different blockchains was to go through centralized, custodial exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, FTX, etc.
For reasons we discussed in the first video, this defeats the purpose of cryptocurrencies entirely.
In 2016 and 2017, the first decentralized exchanges started to appear. These decentralized exchanges (or "DEXs") offered users a way to trade between cryptocurrencies in a decentralized, non-custodial manner, upholding the values that make cryptocurrencies valuable.
Over the past 2 years, decentralized exchanges like Uniswap have emerged, and have proven the incredible demand and value for the DEX model.
DEXs such as Uniswap, Sushiswap, and Pancake swap respectively have multiple Billions of assets pooled for trading, and process multiple hundreds of millions of dollars of exchange volume (each!) on any given day.
These DEXs have proven the model, but to date, have been limited in serving single blockchain ecosystems.
Uniswap, for example, is built on top of Ethereum, and as such, can only facilitate trades between tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Non-Ethereum assets like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and the many thousands of other cryptoassets can't be traded on Uniswap - and to date, every DEX has had similiar limitations.
Until now.
Today, with THORChain, users can swap and trade between cryptoassets across different blockchains - all without going through a centralized, custodial intermediary, and without being limited to a single blockchain.
Users can access these features by going to one of several THORChain-powered online exchanges such as Thorswap, Asgard Exchange, or Skip Exchange, connecting their wallets, and executing a trade.
(In part 4, we'll talk about why/how there are several different options for using THORChain. Also - for more detailed instructions on how to use any of these tools, check out the Guides section on RUNEBase.)
Users can also access THORChain's cross-chain swap functionality by using mobile apps including ShapeShift (which recently transitioned from a centralized company to a decentralized organization thanks to THORChain), or soon TrustWallet - a Binance-owned multi-chain wallet that has announced plans to integrate THORChain into it's mobile app so users can access cross-chain swaps in a decentralized fashion.
And there's a lot more to come!
New teams and projects are emerging on a regular basis, announcing plans to build unique interfaces and applications that integrate THORChain's cross-chain swap functionality - all with unique approaches and angles for serving different users and use cases.
