THORChain defends decentralization amid Bitget hack criticism
THORChain (RUNE)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Cryptobriefing reports that THORChain co-founder Chad Barraford is challenging the definition of decentralization as criticism grows over the protocol's handling of funds linked to the Bitget hack. The debate intensified after Bitget suffered an estimated $387.5 million loss in September 2026, prompting THORChain to decline intervention on the associated funds. Barraford argues that while a handful of operators could halt THORChain, even fewer parties could stop Bitcoin or Ethereum.
He emphasizes that governance is collective, with validators requiring two-thirds approval for most changes. Critics point out that THORChain uses a threshold signature scheme for collective custody, which differs from how Bitcoin and Ethereum manage funds. The protocol can pause for multiples of 720 blocks, roughly one hour each, and Mimir system votes may require only three or four validators for certain actions.
This structure led critics to question why a few validators can pause the network but not freeze hack-linked funds. THORChain retired address blacklisting in February 2025 to maintain neutrality, meaning it can no longer selectively block specific addresses. Barraford contends that pausing the network affects everyone equally, whereas blocking an address singles out one party. He asserts that since none of the three networks will censor specific transactions, they share the same core neutrality despite different governance structures.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for RUNE, measured when this story was written up on 6 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
RUNE is trading at $0.7820 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 52.2%, indicating that buyers are slightly more active than sellers over the full day. However, shorter-term momentum shows weakness, as the 1-hour buy ratio has dropped to 49.1% and the 4-hour ratio sits lower at 36.8%. This decline suggests that buying pressure is fading in the immediate term compared to the daily average. Volume delta reflects this shift, showing a net outflow of -$1,139 in the last hour and -$59,137 over four hours. In contrast, the 24-hour volume delta remains positive at +$203,782, meaning net buying has occurred over the longer timeframe. The buy ratio represents the proportion of trades executed by buyers versus sellers, while volume delta measures the net value of those trades.
The latest daily buy ratio of 43.1% sits at the 2nd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 50.4% - 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 51.4%, with today's reading just 0.8 points higher than that average. This indicates that current buying activity is roughly in line with recent norms rather than being an outlier. Trading volume has been subdued, registering at 0.65 times the weekly average, which suggests lower participation than usual. Despite the lighter volume, the 8-day volume delta shows a total net inflow of +$1,383,282. Price action has been stable, with an 8-day change of only +1.0%, reflecting a period of consolidation rather than strong directional movement.