Key Highlights
- THORChain’s v3.20 upgrade is scheduled for August 25 at approximately 14:00 UTC.
- Trading on BNB, Base, and Solana is expected to resume progressively following the upgrade.
- The update restores network churn and advances infrastructure for Monero and Zcash support.
THORChain, a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, is scheduled to deploy version 3.20 on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at approximately 14:00 UTC.
According to the official announcement, the upgrade includes changes intended to allow trading on BNB, Base, and Solana to resume, restore network churn, and move Zcash and Monero closer to activation. It also activates Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) mirrors and introduces the Stable Reserve feature.
Trading halt followed May exploit
Trading activity on THORChain was halted following a multi-chain exploit on May 15, 2026. The incident drained approximately $10.8 million from one of the network’s Asgard vaults. A newly joined node operator exploited a vulnerability in the GG20 Threshold Signature Scheme by leaking key material during signing ceremonies.
The attack compromised one of six Asgard vaults and resulted in losses across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base. Protocol-owned liquidity absorbed the losses. The network’s automatic solvency detection system and node coordinators halted trading, signing, and churning operations to secure the remaining vaults.
Trading and churn to resume
According to the announcement, Version 3.20 includes fixes addressing chain-specific, solvency, and security issues that kept BNB, Base, and Solana halted.
Trading on these chains is expected to resume progressively after the upgrade. The release also restores churn on the network.
Foundations for Monero support were included in version 3.19. Version 3.20 adds further work on key generation, signing, vault rotation, transaction observation, and recovery related to Monero’s FROST threshold signing and privacy model. Zcash support also advances under the same upgrade.
Stable Reserve adds alternative stablecoin liquidity
Version 3.20 introduces an experimental Stable Reserve.
Eligible stablecoins can be swapped directly against protocol-owned stablecoin inventory rather than through standard RUNE-based liquidity pools. When sufficient inventory is available, the reserve can complete an eligible stable-to-stable swap at a 1:1 rate with no liquidity fee and no slippage.
Normal outbound network fees continue to apply. If the reserve cannot fill the trade, the swap reverts to the standard pools. The feature includes controls that stop the use of a stablecoin if it becomes unhealthy and redirect inventory toward other stablecoins or RUNE. The Stable Reserve ships in a disabled state by default.
Additional token and swap changes
The MorpheusAI MOR token is added to THORChain’s EVM token configuration. It is included on the Ethereum token list and the Base token allowlist. Memoless Swaps are expanded to ERC-20 tokens.
Bifrost can recognize direct ERC-20 transfers into an active THORChain vault and process them through the Memoless system without requiring a memo. Additional handler and refund coverage for ERC-20 Memoless transactions is included, along with improvements to error recovery during funding.
Protocol-Owned Liquidity was first introduced in version 3.18. It allows a portion of System Income to be directed into a POL Reserve and then deployed as RUNE liquidity into selected pools. Version 3.20 makes two related Mimirs operational.
The POL System Income Mimir controls the percentage of System Income allocated to POL. The POL Asset Whitelist Mimir controls which pools can receive POL liquidity. These settings give node operators control over the deployment of POL.
Node and TSS security updates include encryption of TSS keyshare files at rest, changes to seed phrase handling, extended signer-cache expiry, removal of the temporary Keyverify subsystem, and clearer distinction of TSS round-7 warnings. ADR-030, which introduces delegated node operator permissions, is included in version 3.20 and is scheduled for activation in version 3.21.
Also Read: Coinbase Launches Tokenized Shares on Base for Non-U.S. Users
