Rujira & Kujira

Kujira has successfully developed an innovative and cohesive DeFi ecosystem. However, recognizing past challenges, a newly announced partnership with THORChain marks an exciting new phase, offering significant potential for both platforms. See the official announcement about the Rujira Alliance:

What Will This Partnership Solve?

While this collaboration will generate real-yield rewards for THORChain by distributing 50% of core Kujira dApps revenue to RUNE bonders and liquidity providers (LPs), it's important to consider what THORChain offers to Kujira, as well as the additional benefits Kujira brings to THORChain.

THORChain’s Unique Capabilities

THORChain is a sovereign Layer-1 blockchain, distinct from most general-purpose platforms. Its design focuses on a specific set of groundbreaking functions, including:

• Direct integration with native tokens from external chains

• Cross-chain swaps

• Liquidity provision

• Savings and lending services

In essence, THORChain has solved the problem of native liquidity for cross-chain interoperability — a solution from which Kujira stands to gain substantially.

Integrated Core Functionalities

These functionalities are not deployed through smart contracts, but are embedded directly into the THORChain core. This is because THORChain does not support generic smart contracts like CosmWasm, which introduces certain limitations.

However, this also necessitates a more innovative approach to economic security. Unlike most DeFi platforms that use wrapped tokens (which can become worthless in case of an exploit), a breach of THORChain (e.g., draining native BTC or ETH) would still allow the attacker to profit from the stolen assets. To address this, THORChain employs rigorous security measures. Since 2021, THORSec, an always-on security detail, has safeguarded its operations, ensuring the highest levels of security for the ecosystem.

Enhancing with CosmWasm

Given THORChain’s design, it makes sense to develop an application layer with CosmWasm functionality, especially with support from Kujira’s experienced development team. To mitigate risks, assets can be bridged to this App Layer, protecting THORChain’s core layer.

The Missing Piece for Kujira

For Kujira, migrating to become Rujira fills a critical gap. By building on THORChain, Kujira gains access to one of the most liquid, high-volume environments of native assets and cross-chain interoperability within decentralized finance. This combination will help Kujira resolve key pain points and realize its vision of delivering a state-of-the-art DeFi experience.