THORChain brings DeFi yields and swaps to DOGE

Cross-chain liquidity network THORChain has enabled support for Dogecoin (DOGE) — bringing a new suite of decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities to the popular memecoin.

Beginning this week, users have the ability to swap DOGE or earn yields on their DOGE holdings using THORSwap, a non-custodial decentralized exchange. In practice, this means users can swap DOGE for native assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Litecoin (LTC) and stablecoins such as Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and Binance USD (BUSD). All swaps between THORChain assets, including DOGE, can be completed in one step without the need to bridge, wrap or peg assets.

A THORChain developer informed Cointelegraph that a liquidity pool has been established for DOGE. The pool gives DOGE liquidity providers the ability to earn yields on their deposits from trading fees. Like other liquidity providers on THORChain, depositors have impermanent loss protection based on the length of time of each deposit. The developer also confirmed that, as of Jan. 19, the DOGE pool had almost $4 million in liquidity and was yielding up to 15% APY for liquidity providers. 

Chad Barraford, THORChain’s technical lead, said the integration gives DOGE “a new level of self-sovereignty” by allowing users to enter and exit the market free of Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Barraford said Dogecoin’s new DeFi capacity “changes the fundamentals of the asset both as a store of value and as a medium of exchange.”

At its peak in November 2021, THORChain amassed over $400 million in total value locked, or TVL, which reflected a massive early interest in cross-chain swapping solutions. Just one month earlier, THORSwap concluded a $3.75 million private token sale that was supported by IDEO CoLab Ventures, Sanctor Capital, Nine Realms, 0xVentures and others.

Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2022

Related: Vitalik Buterin gives thumbs down to cross-chain applications

DOGE rose to prominence in early 2021 after major influencers — notably, Elon Musk — talked up the merits of the memecoin on social media. In the process, DOGE became an accepted form of payment for Dallas Mavericks tickets and, more recently, Tesla merchandise. It currently ranks 11th by total market capitalization with a value of $21.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.