RUNE's Drop Hugely Impacts THORChain's DeFi USD in Q1, But RUNE-denominated TVL Sees Notable Increase

After a volatile end to 2024, THORChain's native token, $RUNE, suffered a sharp correction in Q1 2025 and ended the quarter at $1.14, down 74.5% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). $RUNE's market cap fell 73.8% over the same period, falling from $1.5 billion to $400.9 million, its lowest since mid-2022.

According to the latest Messari report, $RUNE's drop in value has greatly impacted THORChain's DeFi USD, as the total value locked (TVL) in USD terms fell 50.5% from $368.6 million to $181.1 million by the end of the quarter. TVL peaked at $367.7 million on January 2 before declining in line with the decline in the price of $RUNE. $RUNE-denominated TVL grew 93.2% QoQ after increasing from 82.2 million to 158.8 million $RUNE. According to Messari, this metric indicates growing user activity and confidence in the protocol’s multi-chain liquidity infrastructure even in a volatile pricing environment.

Average daily swap volume fell 24.4% QoQ to $68.8 million, reversing the previous quarter’s momentum and continuing a downward trend from the $218.4 million daily average seen in early January. A notable exception occurred on March 2, when THORChain processed a record $1.05 billion in swaps in a single day. This abnormal spike followed the Bybit exploit, where attackers used the protocol to convert stolen ETH into BTC. While this increased weekly throughput figures, it did not have a significant impact on the broader decline in activity.

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