Bitget Hack Sparks THORChain Censorship Debate
THORChain (RUNE)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
bsc.news reports that Bitget suffered a nine-figure hack in late September, with stolen funds moving through THORChain's cross-chain protocol. Bitget's CEO publicly asked the network to refuse service to the attacker's wallets, but THORChain declined, sparking outrage. The article argues this anger is misplaced, noting that neutral tools like cash and email are used by both good and bad actors.
Stolen funds also moved across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain, passing through multiple services without selective censorship. THORChain's design lacks a magic filter to deny one address while keeping others active, as selective censorship was intentionally omitted. Blocking a single address on one protocol would be ineffective since funds could reroute through other venues instantly.
The piece highlights that transparency aids recovery, allowing investigators to name wallets and chase money to regulated ramps. Permissionless networks accept that bad actors will use them, trading off the ability to freeze specific funds for infrastructure neutrality. The core issue is whether we want a financial system where someone holds the master switch to decide whose money moves.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for RUNE, measured when this story was written up on 29 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
RUNE is trading at $0.7740 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 63.5%, indicating strong immediate buying pressure compared to the 50.8% seen over the past 4 hours. This short-term surge is supported by a positive 1-hour volume delta of +$177,018, showing that recent trades are favoring buyers. Over the last 24 hours, the buy ratio stabilizes at 52.6% with a total volume delta of +$636,931, suggesting sustained but less aggressive accumulation. The Cumulative Volume Delta closed at +$101,048, confirming that net buying activity has outweighed selling pressure throughout the day. Spot volume reached $12,480,166 across 115,712 trades, reflecting active market participation.
The latest daily buy ratio of 45.1% sits at the 6th percentile of the last 323 days, against a median of 50.3% - among the weakest buying days it has had.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for RUNE, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, RUNE saw a 7-day average buy ratio of 52.3%, with the latest day showing only a marginal 0.4 point increase above that average. Volume was 1.10x the weekly average, indicating slightly elevated activity compared to the norm. The coin experienced an 18.3% price increase over eight days, driven by a total volume delta of +$7,416,070. Net buying occurred on 6 of the 7 days, suggesting consistent upward momentum leading into this period. This recent 24-hour activity aligns with the broader weekly trend of steady accumulation rather than a sudden, isolated spike.