THORChain made 63% of its record $3 million September income during the Bitget hack-linked trading surge
Key Summary
THORChain experienced a record $3 million September income, driven by a surge in trading activity linked to the Bitget hack, with most of the activity concentrated in five days. Despite this, the protocol's user base and wallet activity remained relatively stable. The surge in income and trading volume highlights the economic consequences of the hack, and THORChain must now convert this visibility into recurring flow from traders and integrators.
Economic Consequences of the Hack
The surge in trading activity linked to the Bitget hack had significant economic consequences for THORChain. The protocol generated $1.9 million of income during the same period, equivalent to about 63% of the monthly total.
The Role of Decentralization
THORChain defended its position as a decentralized and permissionless protocol, rejecting calls for selective intervention. The protocol argued that censoring individual addresses or transactions would be a violation of its decentralized nature.
A Precedent Set by THORChain
The protocol pointed to its own May exploit, when attackers stole $10.7 million from liquidity pools but were not blacklisted from swapping assets through the network afterward.
Trailing Yield Measures
The surge in trading activity also inflated trailing yield measures for RUNE and TCY. RUNE’s seven-day annualized return reached 69.03% on Sept. 29, while TCY’s climbed to 29.74%.
Looking Ahead
For liquidity providers and token holders, the next test is whether ordinary trading can replace the exceptional activity that lifted September’s returns. If volume normalizes toward pre-hack levels while wallet growth remains modest, income and trailing yields could retreat sharply.