THORChain ADR-031 Passes, Deepening Rujira Partnership

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Nodes chose Option 1 of three paths that the Rujira team proposed. According to Rujira Network, a supermajority of node operators backed the option. The team framed the choice as a move to confirm and reinforce the cooperation.

What THORChain ADR-031 Actually Decides

ADR-031 settles a question that had been open since May. Back then, the one-year exclusivity from ADR-020 expired. So nodes had to decide the future of the relationship.

THORChain is the Base Layer. Rujira is the App Layer, a CosmWasm smart-contract environment for orderbook trading, perps, and lending. Both run on native Layer 1 assets through THORChain’s Secured Assets and Asgard vaults. That design avoids wrapping and third-party bridges.

Rujira itself grew out of the Kujira project, which merged with THORChain around 2024. The KUJI token later migrated to RUJI. The App Layer then launched in 2025 with its first products.

The proposal came mainly from the Rujira team. Pragmatic Monkey is named as the author in THORChain’s own podcast. Nodes voted through Mimir, the protocol’s on-chain constant system. THORChain published a full explainer on its official blog the same day.

The New Three-Way Revenue Split

Under ADR-020, App Layer fees split 50/50 between THORChain and Rujira. ADR-031 replaces that with a three-way split of App Layer revenue.

The new routing sends 33.34% to a new Rujira POL fund. Another 33.33% goes directly to THORChain. The final 33.33% goes to single-sided RUJI stakers. A planned RUJI/RUNE liquidity pool staking option was cut in the process.

The headline number still holds, though. THORChain co-owns the POL fund, so its total economic share stays near 50%. That matches Rujira. In effect, the balance of ADR-020 survives, even as the plumbing changes.

Why WasmArbSlipMinBps Went to Zero

On the same day as the vote, THORChain nodes set the WasmArbSlipMinBps parameter to 0. Previously, that floor sat higher. It had been aligned with the Secured Asset and Trade Account slip levels.

The change targets friction in the Virtualization Strategy. That system settles trades between the App Layer and the Base Layer. Removing the floor lets the protocol settle smaller trades more often. It can also quote closer to market.

According to THORChain, the shift should cut price dislocations and internalize more arbitrage revenue. Before, external bots captured much of that flow. Now the App Layer keeps more of it. That can lift yields for concentrated liquidity providers.

Inside the Joint POL Fund

The most concrete new structure is the POL fund, short for protocol-owned liquidity. Rujira and THORChain own it 50/50. A DAO runs it through a 3-of-6 multisig.

The signers are Hans, PM, Zefiro, Chad, Aaluxx, and Slambammer, with PM leading allocation. The fund has two jobs. First, it bootstraps liquidity for App Layer products. Second, it acts as a buffer if a smart-contract exploit hits.

That buffer ties into a clearer risk framework. Under ADR-031, App Layer contract exploits fall mainly to Rujira. Base Layer issues stay with THORChain, up to defined POL limits. The teams also set KPIs, such as gross system income, Virtualization Strategy volume share, and execution quality against oracles.

The Vote and Its Critics

The vote drew heavy support. Explorer snapshots on thorchain.net showed near-unanimous backing for Option 1 among active economic nodes. At points, tallies logged around 64 nodes for the winning value. THORChain’s economic consensus threshold typically sits near 67% of active nodes.

Still, the plan is not free of concern. In the THORChain podcast and in replies under the official tweet, some community members flagged a risk. They warned that a future RUNE and RUJI token merger could dilute RUNE holders. No such merger has been confirmed.

Market reaction stayed muted, which fits the timing. RUJI traded around $0.19 to $0.20 on CoinMarketCap snapshots, with a market cap near $15 million. THORChain TVL sat in the $28 million to $47 million range on DefiLlama, with daily DEX volume near $16 million.

What Comes Next for THORChain ADR-031

The parameter change is live. Still, the rest of the rollout sits ahead. Next steps include standing up the revenue collectors and the multisig that will route and hold POL funds.

Further roadmap items are set to follow. Those include decentralized concentrated liquidity, perps, and a stablecoin. For now, the practical test is simple. The new KPIs will tell the story over the coming months. If gross system income and market share climb, THORChain ADR-031 will look like the right call. If they stall, the critics gain ground. Either way, traders and RUNE holders should watch those metrics before drawing conclusions. This article is not financial advice.