THORChain has activated native Zcash swaps, enabling users to exchange ZEC directly with assets on other supported blockchains without wrapped tokens or centralized exchanges.
The launch follows THORChain update 3.20, which added protocol support for Zcash and Monero. The Zcash pool currently holds more than $50,000 in liquidity and is in a soft-launch phase while performance is monitored. Trading may be temporarily paused if bugs or other issues need to be addressed.
The current pool size can easily support trades in the five-figure range, but larger trades will experience higher slippage and longer settlement times until liquidity grows. Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) will be automatically added to the Zcash pool when the fees/depth ratio is high enough. POL, introduced in the 3.20 upgrade, deploys a portion of liquidity fees, currently set at 20%, into supported pools.
The integration gives Zcash holders a direct route into the broader crypto market using native assets. Users can swap ZEC against supported assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins without depositing funds with a centralized custodian or converting into wrapped representations. Zcash brings THORChain's cross-chain liquidity network to 14 blockchains.
