THORChain Opens Native Zcash Swaps With More Than $50,000 in Liquidity

THORChain has opened native Zcash swaps with more than $50,000 in liquidity, giving users a way to exchange Zcash (ZEC) with assets on other supported networks without wrapped tokens or centralized custody.

The soft launch supports swaps involving Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and stablecoins. THORChain is monitoring performance, and trading may be paused temporarily if bugs or other operational issues require attention.

The current pool can support trades in the five-figure range. Larger trades are expected to face higher slippage and take longer to settle until additional liquidity enters the pool.

The launch follows THORChain’s v3.20 update, which added support for Zcash and Monero. Zcash brings THORChain’s native blockchain coverage to 14 networks.

Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) will be added to the Zcash pool automatically when its fees-to-depth ratio reaches the required level. The mechanism currently directs 20% of liquidity fees into supported pools, allowing the protocol to increase depth as activity develops.

The integration lets users swap native ZEC without converting it into a wrapped asset or depositing it with a centralized custodian. The current implementation uses Zcash’s transparent transaction infrastructure, so shielded privacy features are not part of the cross-chain swaps.

The launch builds on THORChain’s earlier activation of the Zcash pool as groundwork for native cross-chain swaps. That earlier step established the pool infrastructure, while the current soft launch makes live ZEC trading available as liquidity and network performance continue to develop.