$RUNE THORChain Earns $10M in Fees from Stolen Funds, When a Decentralized Protocol Becomes a Money Laundering Pipeline?
THORChain is facing heavy criticism after on-chain data showed over 90% of cross-chain transactions through the protocol involve illicit funds.
Key numbers:
Most of the funds stolen from Byb** last year were routed through THORChain
In 10 days, THORChain collected nearly $10M in processing fees from these transactions
Recently, some funds stolen from Bi**et also moved through THORChain, generating $1M in fees
This is a tough problem any decentralized cross-chain protocol faces: how do you stay decentralized while preventing money laundering?
THORChain was designed to have no intermediary, no KYC, no controls. That's its strength and exactly the weakness being exploited.
The question: should THORChain change?
If they add controls, they lose decentralization their reason for existing. If they do nothing, they keep getting criticized as a money laundering tool, and may face regulatory pressure.
This is the fundamental paradox of DeFi: the more decentralized, the harder to control. And the harder to control, the easier to abuse.
Notably, RUNE still rose 20.6% despite the negative news. This suggests the market may be viewing higher transaction volume as a positive signal regardless of where the money came from.
But the ethical question remains: should a protocol profit from stolen funds?
What do you think should THORChain add controls, or keep its decentralization and accept the risk of abuse?
News is for reference, not investment advice. Please read carefully before making a decision.
THORChain is facing heavy criticism after on-chain data showed over 90% of cross-chain transactions through the protocol involve illicit funds.
Key numbers:
Most of the funds stolen from Byb** last year were routed through THORChain
In 10 days, THORChain collected nearly $10M in processing fees from these transactions
Recently, some funds stolen from Bi**et also moved through THORChain, generating $1M in fees
This is a tough problem any decentralized cross-chain protocol faces: how do you stay decentralized while preventing money laundering?
THORChain was designed to have no intermediary, no KYC, no controls. That's its strength and exactly the weakness being exploited.
The question: should THORChain change?
If they add controls, they lose decentralization their reason for existing. If they do nothing, they keep getting criticized as a money laundering tool, and may face regulatory pressure.
This is the fundamental paradox of DeFi: the more decentralized, the harder to control. And the harder to control, the easier to abuse.
Notably, RUNE still rose 20.6% despite the negative news. This suggests the market may be viewing higher transaction volume as a positive signal regardless of where the money came from.
But the ethical question remains: should a protocol profit from stolen funds?
What do you think should THORChain add controls, or keep its decentralization and accept the risk of abuse?
News is for reference, not investment advice. Please read carefully before making a decision.
