Rune’s upcoming mainnet launch and Terra (LUNA) integration set off a 74% rally

2021 was a roller coaster of a year for THORChain (RUNE) that saw its price top out at $20.31 only to come crashing down below $4 as a series of hacks and declining interest in decentralized finance had the token limping into 2022.
Data suggests that investors could be taking a closer look at Rune and a few potentially bullish factors could include the protocol’s recent integration with the Terra and Cosmos ecosystem, an upcoming mainnet launch and the attractive yields offered to liquidity providers.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $3.00 on Feb. 24, the price of RUNE has rallied 74.2% to a daily high at $5.23 on March 1 amid a 388% surge in its 24-hour trading volume.
Rune integrates with Terra
One development that has excited the RUNE community is the integration of Terra (LUNA) into the THORChain protocol. This integration also enables the platform to support all Cosmos-based projects.

To clear up any uncertainty: The Terra integration is complete.

We’re now working with @TerraSCV to review the integration before pushing things.

Once we receive the green light and handle any comments, $UST and $LUNA will be live on @THORChain. https://t.co/DsTw1qbUDV

— Nine Realms (@ninerealms_cap) March 1, 2022

Terra integration brings  LUNA token, along with the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin to the THORChain ecosystem and gives users more trading and staking options.
THORChain now supports six wallet types and eight blockchains on its THORSwap cross-chain decentralized exchange. THORChain is also in the process of adding support for Haven and Monero.

As part of the rollout for Terra and the Cosmos SDK, THORChain will be updated via a hardfork which will be fully tested in Testnet and followed by further testing in Stagenet after the Terra launch and on Chaosnet before the mainnet launch.
Bulls anticipate the next mainnet launch
A second reason for the increased attention to RUNE could be the upcoming mainnet launch on THORChain. This event has been highly anticipated since late 2021 when the launch was originally planned but delayed due to a variety of factors.

With Mainnet on the horizon, there will be push towards greater integration. https://t.co/gWIXVHC5FK will allow this. Watch this space. Watch the integration grow!$RUNE #LUNAISCOMING

— THORChain #LUNAISCOMING (@THORChain) February 28, 2022

The specific date for the mainnet launch has yet to be disclosed, but there is no shortage of interest from community members who have remained loyal throughout the struggles and hacks over the past year.
The requirements for mainnet launch are meeting all testnet goals, which includes the rehearsal of adding and removing chains, removing Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) from testnet, and several test runs with forking the chain.
Related: THORSwap hammers home the point: Aligned incentives are a crypto superpower
High staking yields attract new deposits
A third factor helping to attract users and liquidity to THORChain are high yields offered to liquidity providers on the protocol.

Some of the highest yields offered include 55% for Binance USD (BUSD) and 30% for the DAI stablecoin. LTC deposits earn 26% and Dogecoin (DOGE) is set at 24%.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for RUNE on , prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for RUNE spiked to a high of 78 on Feb. 25, around 57 hours before the price began to increase 55% over the next two days.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.