THORChain Expands bRUNE Staking Cap 40x to 2 Million

THORChain has released **v3.17.0**, one of its largest protocol upgrades to date. The update includes: - Over 100 improvements across multiple areas - Enhanced security measures - Improved swap functionality - Better cross-chain reliability - Governance updates - Developer tooling enhancements The upgrade represents continued development momentum for the decentralized liquidity protocol. Full technical details are available in the [official blog post](https://blog.thorchain.org/protocol-upgrade-v3-17-0/).

THORChain is weeks away from integrating Monero, enabling permissionless swaps into the privacy-focused asset without KYC requirements. Unlike centralized exchanges, THORChain will allow anyone to swap Bitcoin for Monero natively, with no intermediaries or wrapped tokens. **Key developments:** - Monero integration represents THORChain's most technically complex chain addition to date - New Native API launched, giving wallets and aggregators direct access to swap functionality, asset quotes, and transaction tracking - No third-party fees on the protocol-maintained interface - All swaps remain transparent and traceable on-chain while maintaining permissionless access The combination of native cross-chain swaps and censorship-resistant access positions THORChain as infrastructure for platforms seeking to offer broader asset coverage without identity layers. Full integration guide: [THORChain Native API](https://blog.thorchain.org/thorchains-native-api-plugging-liquidity-directly-to-wallets-and-dexs/)

**Major Milestones** - Vultisig surpassed $100M in total swap volume - Symbiosis reached $8B in cumulative cross-chain volume, routing through THORChain **Key Launches** - **THORSwap** celebrates 5 years by launching [Metro.exchange](http://Metro.exchange) - a next-gen DeFi app featuring native unified wallet, simplified UI, and user-first design. Open beta now live - **RujiraNetwork** hit $200k in total borrowed on RUJI Money Market, enabling KYC-free borrowing against BTC, ETH, DOGE, XRP and more. Also launched Custom Concentrated Liquidity on RUJI Trade - **SwapKitPowered** integrated Ballet Crypto, bringing fully decentralised cross-chain swaps to US users - **leodexio** released Rapid Swaps volume tracker at [thorvolume.com/rapid](http://thorvolume.com/rapid) - **THORStackAPI** shipped THORStack Elding as standalone binary for real-time THORChain event streaming in terminal

**Zcash integration is now active on THORChain**, marking the start of native ZEC swaps across the decentralized liquidity protocol. **Trading timeline:** - Full trading functionality will roll out progressively over the coming weeks - Depends on node operators adding support - Bifrost scanning must go live before swaps begin **What this means:** Users will soon be able to swap Zcash natively without wrapped tokens or centralized intermediaries. This follows THORChain's recent momentum with Monero targeting mainnet in 1-2 months and Bittensor development ongoing. The integration represents another step in THORChain's expansion of privacy-focused asset support alongside its growing rapid swap volume and Protocol-Owned Liquidity improvements.