5 Min Read 
For a few months, Edge users have been able to access Thorchain powered swaps directly from their mobile device and now – thanks to the integration of Savers Vaults – Edge users can earn yield on their assets by participating in Thorchain liquidity pools. Automated, transparent, and decentralized swaps and yield, easily accessible from your Edge account.
As well, Edge now connects users to Thorswap’s API to give our users access to the Thorchain DEX aggregator. The DEX aggregator is a set of smart contracts that allow users to swap their assets across many DEXs that exist across many chains. The aggregator connects previously siloed liquidity from several different chains and decentralized exchanges (DEXs), allowing platforms like Edge to easily connect users to the power of Thorchain’s aggregator through a secure and simple interface. This gives Edge users the ability to swap between a long range of assets that weren’t available before without a central intermediary.
Another advantage of using Thorchain’s DEX aggregator is that it automatically finds the best prices for the assets users want to swap. By connecting liquidity from multiple DEXs, the aggregator can compare prices across different routes and present users with the best available option. Cross-chain DEX aggregators help reduce the custodial and counterparty risk of centralized exchanges, as Edge and Thorchain allow users to retain sole access to their assets.
Savers
Thorchain’s Savers Vaults enable Edge users to earn interest on-chain instead of through a centralized intermediary, which have seen many issues over the last calendar year. The interest earned by Savers comes from Thorchain liquidity pool swap fees. Savers are compensated for providing the liquidity that facilitates swaps in and out of the liquidity provider’s asset. Savers can see this action on-chain and the intrepid investigator can audit the open-source contract code here.
Savers Mechanics:
- User sends BTC into the Savers Vault contract; entry fee is taken by the Thorchain protocol
- User’s BTC is swapped into BTC-RUNE liquidity pool and a synthetic BTC (synth) is minted that tracks the user’s share of BTC in the liquidity pool
- User’s BTC Synth is locked in a module
- User’s proportional swap fees are minted into the synthetic BTC module when appropriate
- When a user withdraws from Savers, the user’s synthetic BTC is burned and the user’s share of the BTC pool is withdrawn to their Edge account; an exit fee is taken by the Thorchain protocol.
The Savers Vault is fully transparent. All of the trades that take place and the fees that it generates are visible on-chain, which allows users to see exactly how their assets are being used and how much interest they are earning.
Another benefit of Savers Vaults is that users can earn yield as liquidity providers while not taking on the risk of impermanent loss. Impermanent loss refers to the potential for the value of a liquidity provider’s pair of assets in an AMM to decline relative to the value the liquidity provider would have had if the liquidity provider had simply held their assets. Savers do not take on RUNE exposure and therefore do not take on the risk of impermanent loss.
In Thorchain’s economic design, liquidity providers that deposit both assets into Thorchain pools earn newly minted RUNE as well as a higher proportion of the swap fees. Savers are not taking on RUNE exposure and are not eligible for RUNE rewards. To learn more about RUNE’s tokenomics, check out this site. You can also listen to a recent Twitter Spaces recording with Edge, Nine Realms Capital, and Thorchain developers covering the different risks depositors are taking on and everything else related to Edge, Thorchain, and Savers.
Keep in mind Savers Vaults (SVs) were created for long-term depositors. You should use THORChain SVs only if you are planning on keeping your assets in the SV long enough for the swap fees accrued to offset the entry/exit costs, as well as the outbound fee(s), assessed when withdrawn. Users should also keep in mind, even though they are avoiding custodial and counterparty risk, they are taking on smart contract and protocol risk. However, as the contracts and protocol mature the risks they pose users should lessen over time, whereas custody and counterparty risks never go away.
How to Swap
- On your home screen tap on the exchange icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. Then in the exchange scene, select the wallet you want to swap out of and select the wallet you want to swap into.
- Type in the amount you want to swap, check the details of you swap, and swipe to confirm.
- You should get a congratulations message after you’ve confirmed the swap. Tap on “Done”.
When you navigate back to your source or destination wallet you should see a swap transaction pending. Once the swap has successfully completed that pending message will go away.
How To Deposit via Savers
- On your home screen tap on the wallet you want to deposit assets from into a saver’s vault. Once inside that wallet, tap on the “Stake” icon at the top right of your wallet
- On the next page tap on “Stake More Funds”
- Tap on “Tap to Edit”
- Enter the amount of the asset you want to stake in the Thorchain Saver’s Vault and press done at the bottom of the wallet.
- Check that the information is correct and slide to confirm if it is.
- When you navigate back to your wallet you should see that the transaction is pending.
- In a few minutes the “Pending” status should go away indicating your funds have successfully been sent to the Thorchain Saver’s Vault!
If you’re having any difficulties or issues with swaps and/or Saver’s Vaults please reach out to our support team at support@edge.app.
Thorchain & Edge
It’s been awesome to watch Thorchain grow as a protocol and community. Edge has always tried to maintain the crypto ethos of self-custody while providing a great user experience with as many financial tools as possible. Thorchain keeps this crypto ethos alive by providing decentralized financial services, giving our users another great option to get the most out of their crypto-assets without sacrificing their holdings to third party custodians.
