How to Swap BCH to Stablecoins on THORChain
Lock in a move without sending Bitcoin Cash to a CEX. Native BCH in, real USDC (or USDT) out on the chain of your choice. One transaction, no account, no KYC.
Why exit BCH to stables on THORChain
Most BCH holders who want to sit in stablecoins route through a centralized exchange — deposit BCH, sell to USD or USDC, wait for withdrawal. THORChain replaces the entire flow with one native BCH send. The stablecoin lands directly in your wallet on the chain you pick.
- Non-custodial exit — your BCH is never held by a company during the swap.
- No KYC and no withdrawal queue — there is no operator to gatekeep the move.
- Any chain — pick the stablecoin variant that matches your destination (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and more as THORChain adds them).
- Reversible — the same pools route stable → BCH if you want back in later.
Step-by-step: BCH to stablecoins
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Pick the stablecoin that matches your destination chain
USDC and USDT live on multiple chains. Pick the version that matches where you want the stables to land — Ethereum USDC if you are going to an ETH wallet, Arbitrum or Base USDC if you are moving to an L2, and so on. The deving.zone swap interface shows every supported variant.
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Open the BCH → stablecoin swap page
Open the cross-chain swap interface for BCH → USDC (or your chosen stable). The interface pulls the live THORChain quote, including fees and expected output.
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Paste your destination address
Enter the address on the stablecoin chain. For Ethereum USDC, that is a standard 0x address; for other chains, use the chain-native format. Double-check the first and last four characters.
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Review the quote
Check expected USDC output, protocol swap fee, outbound miner fee on the destination chain, and slippage. Cancel if anything looks off — you sign only one transaction, and it is the BCH send.
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Sign and broadcast the BCH send
Your BCH wallet builds a single send to the THORChain inbound address with the swap memo in OP_RETURN. Broadcast it. That is the last action you take.
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Receive stablecoins at your destination address
THORChain routes BCH → RUNE → stablecoin, then broadcasts the outbound transaction on the destination chain. USDC/USDT lands at your address on the chain you chose. Typical end-to-end time is 10–20 minutes.
Alternative: borrow against BCH instead of selling
Swapping BCH to stables realises the move — you no longer hold BCH. If you want stablecoin liquidity but want to keep your BCH exposure, Rujira Money Market lets you post BCH as collateral and borrow stables against it. The BCH stays in the protocol as native BCH; you repay any time to unlock it.
BCH to stablecoins questions
Which stablecoin should I pick — USDC or USDT?
Pick the one whose chain matches your next step. If you want to hold in a software wallet on Ethereum, pick Ethereum USDC. If you are parking in cold storage and do not care about the chain, pick whichever has the deepest THORChain pool at the time — deeper pool means less slippage on the swap.
Is my BCH wrapped to WBCH at any point?
No. BCH leaves your wallet as native BCH and lands in a THORChain vault on the Bitcoin Cash chain. The stablecoin you receive is the real ERC-20 (or equivalent) on its native chain, not a wrapped derivative.
Why not just send BCH to Coinbase and sell?
You can, but it is a custodial step: Coinbase holds your BCH until you sell, KYC applies, withdrawal timing is at their discretion, and a sale is a taxable event settled through them. THORChain clears the same economic move on-chain in one transaction, with no account to open and no hold period.
How much slippage should I expect on a large BCH → USDC swap?
Slippage is proportional to your swap size relative to the combined depth of the BCH pool and the destination stablecoin pool. Small swaps are negligible; multi-thousand-dollar swaps typically see under 1%, but you should always preview the exact figure in the swap interface before signing. For very large amounts, split into multiple swaps.
What fees do I pay in total?
Three components: the THORChain protocol swap fee (around 0.3%, pool-dependent), the outbound miner fee on the destination chain (paid in the destination asset — e.g. ETH for Ethereum USDC), and slippage. There is no deposit fee, no withdrawal fee, and no spread tax from a market maker.
Can I swap back from stables to BCH the same way?
Yes. The same pools run both directions. Connect a wallet on the stablecoin chain, select stable as the sell asset and BCH as the buy asset, and paste your BCH destination address.