THORChain Details 74-Vote Threshold for Upgrades and Fee Changes

THORChain published a detailed explanation Friday, Nov. 6, of how node operators approve upgrades and economic changes; with 111 active nodes, two-thirds approval requires 74 votes.

The explanation was published at 2:26 p.m. ET (19:26 UTC). Each active node had at least 300,000 RUNE bonded to it, but bond size does not change its voting weight: each node gets one vote.

Software upgrades require approval from two-thirds of active nodes and take effect once two-thirds of nodes have adopted the new software version. The same two-thirds threshold, rounded up, applies to economic changes managed through Mimir, including network settings such as fees. Mimir lets node operators vote on network parameters, and some settings can override constants built into the software.

Operational Mimir settings have a lower threshold. At least three active nodes must support a value, and it must receive more votes than each competing value. Four nodes can rescind an operational setting; five can counter that vote.

Developers and community members can propose software changes, while node operators decide whether to adopt them. RUNE holders are not voting members, and the model has no central governance body or DAO. The rules add detail to earlier coverage of THORChain’s node-centered governance.

THORChain also uses an automatic solvency check. If at least one-third of active nodes report the same vault as insolvent, swaps and liquidity additions or removals stop on that chain. The halt lifts automatically once the vault is solvent again.