THORChain mainnet halted amid new vulnerability reports

THORChain has once again halted its network, taking action as a precautionary measure while verifying reports on a potential network vulnerability.

Cross-chain liquidity protocol THORChain has paused its network due to new claims of a potential network vulnerability.

THORChain took to Twitter on March 28 to announce that it has halted all trading amid reports on a potential vulnerability with a THORChain dependency that may affect the network. The decision was taken as a precautionary measure while the reports are verified, THORChain said.

The announcement came shortly after social media reports indicated that THORChain’s liquidity platform Nine Realms and the dedicated security team THORSec received “credible reports” of a potential vulnerability affecting THORChain. The THORChain network has reportedly been subsequently halted globally.

**THORChain Globally Halted**@ninerealms_cap and THORSec have received credible reports of a potential vulnerability affecting @THORChain. Out of an abundance of caution, steps have been taken to halt THORChain globally.

Stand by for more information.

— Pluto (9R) ⚡️ (@Pluto9r) March 28, 2023

“Network preemptively paused by NO’s to investigate the report; updates will follow,” Nine Realms tweeted.

Amid the news, THORChain’s native token Rune (RUNE) has tumbled about 5%, according to data from CoinGecko. At the time of writing, the token is trading at $1.32, down 18% over the past 30 days.

Founded in 2018, THORChain is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol that allows users to swap assets between different blockchain networks without using centralized exchanges. THORChain’s settlement layer currently offers swaps between eight chains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Chain, Avalanche, Cosmos Hub, Dogecoin, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.

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The latest halt on the THORChain’s network is far from being the first one. The network was paused in October 2022 as a result of a software bug causing “non-determinism between individual nodes.” The network was subsequently resumed and became fully functional after 20 hours of maintenance.

In 2021, THORChain also halted its network after the protocol suffered a breach, with hackers stealing $7.6 million in crypto assets.

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