Network & Security
How THORChain secures cross-chain assets through bonded validators, threshold signatures, and economic incentives.
Node Types
Active
Currently in the validator set. Must be online, observe chains, sign TSS transactions, and participate in consensus. Highest rewards.
Standby
Ready to join the active set. Maintains uptime and sync. Promoted to Active based on bond ranking during churn events.
Ready
Synced but not bonded or insufficient bond for Standby. Can be promoted by bonding more RUNE.
Whitelisted
Approved by governance to operate as a node but not yet bonded. Must bond RUNE to advance to Ready.
Security Architecture
Threshold Signatures
TSS distributes key generation and signing across operators. A 2/3 threshold of nodes must cooperate to authorize outgoing transactions.
Rotating Vaults
Vaults rotate every ~3 days (50K blocks). Funds move to a fresh Asgard vault with new TSS keys, preventing key compromise accumulation.
Bonded Validators
Operators bond RUNE (~300K–2M). Bond acts as security deposit. Misbehavior triggers bond slashing — economic incentives enforce honest behavior.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance
2/3+ supermajority required for consensus. As long as fewer than 1/3 of nodes by stake are malicious, the network remains secure.
Slash Points
Nodes accumulate slash points for missing observations or failing to sign. High slash counts trigger forced churning or bond forfeiture.
Churning
Every ~3 days, the oldest active node is replaced by the highest-bonded Standby. Vault rotates, and the churned node enters a 12h unbonding period.
Key Numbers
67%
Consensus Threshold
2/3
TSS Threshold
~90
Active Nodes
~3 days
Churn Interval
1.5x
Slash Rate
12 hours
Unbond Time
~300K RUNE
Minimum Bond
500M RUNE
Max Supply