RUNE Slump Hits THORChain’s DeFi USD TVL in Q1, But Native Deposits Surge

Thorchain resisted a turbulent start until 2025, because the layer 1 network was faced with macroeconomic mounting pressure, the challenges of the internal network and the feeling of altcoin change. After a volatile end until 2024, the native token of Thorchain, rune, underwent a strong correction in the first quarter of 2025 and ended up closing the quarter to $ 1.14, down 74.5% quart-level (qoq).

This has considerably underperformed the main digital active ingredients, Bitcoin and Ethereum lowering 12.6% and 45.5%, respectively. Rune market capitalization fell from 73.8% over the same period, because it increased from $ 1.5 billion to $ 400.9 million, its lowest level since mid-2022.

USD TVL from Thorchain drops by 50%

According to Messari's last reportThe collapse of the Rune value has greatly affected the Thorchain DEFI imprint, because the total locked value (TVL) in USD terms fell by $ 368.6 million to 181.1 million dollars at the end of the quarter. TVL had culminated at $ 367.7 million on January 2, before slipping into a step with the price of rune.

Despite steep losses in USD terms, the participation of the natives in the Thorchain ecosystem remained solid. In fact, TVL called by the Rune climbed 93.2% Qoq, after going from 82.2 million to 158.8 million runes.

Messari said that the figure indicated an activity and confidence of growing users in the protocol's multi -hole liquidity infrastructure, even in the midst of volatile prices.

Torchain Swap Volumes

The exchange activity, however, painted a deeper image. The average daily swap volume fell 24.4% QOQ to $ 68.8 million, reversing the momentum from the previous quarter and pursuing a downward trend compared to the daily average of $ 218.4 million observed in early January.

A notable exception occurred on March 2, when Thorchain processed a record of $ 1.05 billion in Swaps in a single day. This abnormal point followed bybit's feat because the attackers used the protocol to convert the stolen eth to BTC. Although these inflated weekly flow figures, it has not significantly changed the broader decline of organic activity.

Channel data also showed a drop in user engagement, the average number of daily swappers decreasing 14.5% QOQ to 1,780. However, the use remained widely distributed between portfolios and affiliates, which indicated that, although the overall volume falls, the protocol infrastructure continued to support a large base of participants.

“The sustained participation reflects the continuous role of the protocol as a layer of regulation of the backend for multi -hole swaps, even as broader market volatility and the withdrawal of rune prices weighed on user activity.”