Understand how it works → why it’s safe → How to use it step by step
With Thorchain, you can swap cryptocurrencies in a decentralized and self-custodial way, in minutes. The fees typically range between 0.05% and 0.50% + standard network fees — everything is shown upfront before confirming.
There are no accounts, no intermediaries and no KYC verification: you just use a decentralized protocol.
How Thorchain works, briefly
Thorchain is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that enables permissionless cross‑chain swaps without going through any intermediary or custodian. Swaps cost a standard 0.30-0.50%, take minutes, and any amount is possible.
Decentralized nature and security
Behind the scenes, multichain pools are jointly controlled vaults (~ multisig addresses) by multiple rotating nodes. These nodes have locked capital worth more than 2× the value of the crypto they secure; if any nodes attempted to steal the funds they control, they would lose their locked capital, worth twice. The system is designed so that attacking the network costs far more than what stealing could extract; the security is economically guaranteed.
What this means is that there’s a platform (an interface) where you can swap crypto anonymously direcly from your wallet, with no account, no logins, no KYC verification and no man in the middle.
It’s unstoppable and cannot be shut down.
Proof: Bybit 2025 hack’s stolen crypto went through Thorchain
A group of hackers now identified as the Lazarous Group stole $1.5 billion of crypto and exchanged most of it through Thorchain. Even with blockchains’ transparency allowing the destination addresses to be seen, nothing could be done. Thorchain cannot be stopped, and no outside intervention is possible.
Furthermore, as the DEX is anonymous, no government will know your activity unless your existing your wallets are KYC-linked.
And if your crypto is identified, you can anonymize it using Cashfusion privacy protocol→.
How to swap BCH anonymously on Thorchain
For cold swaps (no wallet connection needed), you just send the crypto you want to exchange, and receive the one you want in your provided recipient address of your desired cryptocurrency.
Follow these simple steps:
Go to swap.thorchain.org→, select your pair and amount. The interface shows the estimated output of the swap and the fee.
Click Swap and enter the recipient address — the wallet that will receive the desired crypto. If swapping to BCH, copy it from your recommended BCH wallet→ and paste it — doublecheck the address before moving on.
Then Thorchain will generate a deposit address for you
Thorchain’s swap confirmation view.
Thorchain’s deposit address view.
Send the exact amount of funds to the generated address, and you’re done. You will receive the BCH or selected crypto in just a few minutes after your transaction gets confirmed. Only rarely do swaps fail (due to slippage, if price moves too much before completion), and when they do, funds are returned back to your sending address.
Thorchain is open-source and audited.
Now you know how to exchange crypto freely without going through any intermediary, and anonymously.
If you’ve just got your first BCH and want get started, explore our
Start using BCH→ page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thorchain swaps work by routing trades through liquidity pools controlled by a rotating set of nodes, which have locked capital worth 2x the value of the pools they control. For swaps, you send the input "coin A" to the provided vault address, and Thorchain sends you "coin B" from the corresponding pool.
Yes, Thorchain swaps are decentralized because funds are held in jointly controlled vaults secured by a rotating set of bonded nodes rather than a company wallet. No single node can take control of funds without losing its bonded capital. The protocol is decentralized, it cannot be stopped, and anyone can become a node.
A BCH swap on Thorchain usually takes a few minutes, depending on how quickly the source and destination blockchains confirm transactions. Most of the waiting time depends on the chain you’re sending from.
Thorchain charges a liquidity fee—typically between 0.05% and 0.50% for standard‑size swaps—plus normal network fees on each chain. The full cost is displayed upfront in the quote before you confirm.
Thorchain is one of the best ways to swap crypto without KYC because it lets you swap directly from your own wallet without creating accounts or submitting personal information. Once you confirm the quote, the swap is executed fully on‑chain. The protocol is decentralized and cannot be stopped by governments.
Thorchain is safe because it's an audited, decentralized protocol where the nodes that control the crypto pools have locked RUNE worth more than twice the assets they help secure. Funds are also protected by threshold‑signature vaults controlled collectively by the network, not by a single party.
Yes, you can use virtually any wallet with the new Thorchain cold swaps — you no longer need to WalletConnect a wallet to the interface. You just need control of the input coins of the swap ("coin A") and a wallet destination address of your desired "coin B".