Eightcap vs THORChain: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Eightcap and THORChain This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on September 1, 2025

Eightcap

THORChain

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

China

Yes

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Eightcap is ideal if:

Strong for technical traders — supports MT4, MT5 and TradingView with advanced charting and code‑free automation, perfect for hands‑on, strategy-driven trading.
Regulated & cost‑efficient — overseen by multiple top-tier authorities and offers tight spreads plus no deposit or inactivity fees, appealing for safety‑ and budget‑conscious users.
Less ideal for beginners — wide instrument offerings and advanced tools may overwhelm newer traders seeking simpler platforms or built‑in educational guidance.

THORChain is ideal if:

You value native cross-chain swaps — ideal if you're seeking seamless, non-custodial swaps between different blockchains without wrapped tokens.
You're experienced with DeFi mechanics — a great match if you're comfortable navigating liquidity pools, impermanent loss, and node operations.
You prioritize decentralization and control — perfect if you prefer trustless networks and retaining custody of your assets throughout trading.

Eightcap isn’t ideal if:

Not for long-term investors — only CFD-based trading is supported, so you can’t actually own real stocks or crypto assets.
Modest educational resources — lacks extensive learning materials or in-depth investor education, which can be a hurdle for newcomers.
Some transparency gaps — limited public disclosure of financials and occasional regulatory complexity may make due diligence harder.

THORChain isn’t ideal if:

You're new to DeFi — its cross-chain mechanics and impermanent loss dynamics can be technically challenging for beginners.
You prefer institutional certainty — recent financial strains and paused lending services signal an unstable risk profile.
You favor strong traditional governance — decentralized decision-making has shown delays and controversy under stress.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Eightcap offers two account types: Standard (spread-only, no commission) and Raw (very tight spreads plus fixed commission of $3.50 per standard lot, per side). There are no volume-tier pricing or native token discounts—pricing remains flat regardless of trading volume or token holdings.

THORChain uses a single swap fee model that replaces traditional maker/taker pricing; fees adjust dynamically based on pool depth and trade size, with occasional affiliate fee options but no separate native token discounts.

Futures/Derivatives

Eightcap specializes in CFDs (including futures-like products) but does not publicly provide maker/taker fee tiers like traditional futures exchanges. Costs are embedded in bid/ask spreads and overnight financing (swap rates), which vary by asset class and are automatically applied when positions are held past daily cut-off.

THORChain doesn’t offer derivatives or futures trading—its focus remains on native, non-custodial cross-chain swaps within liquidity pools.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Crypto trading as CFDs is offered, but spreads vary by instrument. According to recent data, they start around 170 pips for Bitcoin (BTC) and 20 pips for Ethereum (ETH), reflecting typical broker-wide CFD markups—not tight like spot crypto exchanges, but acceptable for leveraged derivatives access.

As a decentralized protocol rather than an order-book exchange, THORChain does not quote fixed spreads; the effective cost emerges from slip-based fees tied to trade size and liquidity depth instead.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Eightcap supports a wide array of fiat deposit and withdrawal methods—bank transfers, credit/debit cards, e-wallets (e.g., PayPal, Skrill, Neteller), and others—with no internal fees charged by Eightcap. Deposits can be processed instantly or within 24 business hours; withdrawals generally process within one day, though third-party or banking intermediaries may apply their own charges or delays.

THORChain operates purely on-chain with crypto-to-crypto swaps and doesn’t support direct fiat deposits or withdrawals through traditional methods like bank transfers.

On-chain Withdrawals

Eightcap does not support withdrawing cryptocurrencies “on-chain”, as all crypto exposure is via CFDs. You cannot withdraw actual BTC, ETH, TRX, or other tokens—so there are no network fees, fixed or dynamic.

Outbound withdrawal costs vary by chain—users pay what amounts to a markup over typical on-chain “fast” fees (sometimes one-and-a-half to three times), and there’s also slip-based pricing and protocol network fees embedded in the trade.

Hidden Costs

While Eightcap is transparent on major fees, some additional costs may apply: currency conversion fees if your deposit/withdrawal currency differs from your account’s base currency; a $10 inactivity fee after three months of no trading or funding for certain entities; and possibly expedited KYC or handling charges, depending on jurisdiction or service tier—though these are uncommon and not prominently advertised.

Beyond obvious transaction fees, users may face slip-based costs, optional affiliate charges, and on-chain gas variations—but there are no inactivity or expedited KYC fees built into the protocol.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

If you use €500 to “buy” BTC via CFD: First, your Standard account would incur a spread cost (embedded in the price), or with Raw you’d pay a minimal spread plus about €3.50 commission per side. Since it’s a CFD, there’s no actual BTC to withdraw, so no withdrawal fees or network charges apply. Any currency conversion (EUR to account base) may add a small FX cost—so your total cost includes spread + commission (if Raw) + potential FX conversion, but no actual blockchain or custody expenses.

In a typical scenario, swapping the equivalent of €500 into BTC would involve paying on-chain gas to send funds in, a slip-based swap fee, and an outbound gas-based fee deducted from the output—resulting in a slightly lower BTC amount, all embedded seamlessly in the transaction.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Eightcap offers over 250 crypto derivatives that include a wide range of coins, crosses, and indices—way beyond the top 20 by volume, though it doesn’t break down exactly which are most popular.

THORChain supports around 29 native cryptocurrencies across approximately 39 trading pairs, with its top pairs by volume—including BTC/RUNE, ETH/RUNE, and USDT/RUNE—comprising the vast majority of activity, making them the most liquid and active trading options.

Product Range

Eightcap exclusively provides CFD-based crypto instruments, which function like margin or perpetuals but underestimate ownership—you won’t find options, ETFs, staking, loans, bots, or DCA tools directly on the platform.

THORChain primarily provides spot cross-chain swaps and liquidity provision, alongside staking (via RUNE), but it does not offer margin, perpetuals, options, ETFs, lending services, copy-trading, grid bots, or auto DCA features.

Liquidity

While specific 24-hour volumes and order-book depths aren’t publicly listed, Eightcap leverages NDD/ECN execution through professional liquidity providers, offering comparatively deep liquidity for major crypto CFDs like BTC and ETH.

While exact figures change constantly, THORChain’s 24-hour trading volume reaches into the tens of millions, and its book depth is essentially represented by pool liquidity rather than traditional order books—meaning deeper pools yield smoother swaps for BTC and ETH pairs.

Tools

You get a full suite of limit, stop, OCO orders, price alerts, advanced charting across MT4, MT5, and TradingView (with native integration), plus access to APIs and WebSockets—ideal for custom trading or automation.

As a decentralized AMM protocol, THORChain does not offer typical order types like limit or stop, nor OCO, charting tools, alerts, API/WebSocket, or native TradingView—its interface is designed for simple, immediate swaps rather than advanced trading strategies.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

There are regional limitations: for example, UK-based retail clients cannot trade crypto derivatives due to FCA rules, and similar restrictions may apply elsewhere depending on local regulation. Eightcap doesn’t currently offer launchpads, pools, or staking/earn products, so there’s no innovative token launch or flexible/locked earn feature—its focus remains strictly on regulated CFD derivatives.

There are no explicit geographical product limitations like those seen in centralized exchanges—since THORChain is permissionless and non-custodial, its services are technically accessible anywhere, subject only to local crypto regulations in user jurisdictions.

Innovation

Eightcap doesn’t currently offer launchpads, pools, or staking/earn products, so there’s no innovative token launch or flexible/locked earn feature—its focus remains strictly on regulated CFD derivatives.

THORChain delivers continuous innovation via native cross-chain swaps and staking pools, with features like flexible staking through liquidity provision; however, it doesn’t include traditional launchpads, locked vs flexible earn products, or centralized-style launchpool mechanisms.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Eightcap is operated by several legal entities across jurisdictions—most prominently Eightcap Pty Ltd in Australia, and others in the UK, Cyprus, and the Bahamas—with founding traces around 2009 and reported operational headquarter roots in Melbourne.

THORChain operates as a decentralized protocol without a single corporate entity; node operators collectively secure the network via bonded RUNE, and there is no clear legal headquarters or formal incorporation year.

Licenses/Registration

Eightcap holds licenses under multiple regulators including ASIC (Australia), FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus) and SCB (Bahamas); it does not specifically operate under VASP or MiCA frameworks for crypto, as it offers CFDs rather than spot crypto services.

THORChain is fully permissionless and non-custodial, meaning it doesn’t hold licenses like VASP or MiCA registrations—its decentralized nature places it outside typical regulatory regimes.

Custody

Eightcap uses third-party segregated bank accounts to hold client funds separately from corporate capital; it does not offer Proof of Reserves or cold storage audits, as it doesn’t custody actual cryptocurrencies.

Funds are secured using a threshold-signature (TSS) vault architecture involving many node operators; there’s no centralized custodian, no formal proof-of-reserves or third-party audits beyond early smart contract reviews, and no mention of cold-storage percentage.

Insurance & Protection Funds

Depending on the regulatory entity, clients may benefit from protections like the UK’s FSCS coverage (up to £85,000) or the EU’s equivalent; however, there is no blanket crypto-insurance or industry-wide protection fund.

The protocol does not offer insurance or dedicated protection funds; users rely on decentralized design and economic security (bonded RUNE) for protection from losses or insolvency.

Incident History

Eightcap’s public incident record includes self-reported compliance breaches with ASIC (regarding leveraged CFD limits), and abrupt service cuts to proprietary trading firms—not hacks or technical breaches.

To date, THORChain has not experienced major hacks or forced fund freezes; there is no known record of suspensions or regulatory penalties, underscoring a clean operational track record.

Risk Controls

Security controls include SSL encryption, optional two-factor authentication (2FA), negative balance protection, and advanced platform-level features (e.g., in MT4/MT5). Whitelists, anti-phishing tools, sub-accounts, or granular API permissions are not explicitly noted.

As a pure on-chain protocol, THORChain doesn’t provide user access controls like 2FA, whitelists, anti-phishing tools, sub-accounts, or granular API permissions—security is rooted in user-side custody and key management.

Transparency

Eightcap publishes regulatory disclosures and periodic financial reports (like Pillar III disclosures for its EU entity), supports regulatory transparency, but does not offer public crypto wallet addresses or express service-level agreements (SLAs).

The protocol offers transparent public access to node and pool activity via block explorers and dashboards; there are no formal monthly reports or SLA guarantees, but network status is openly viewable in real-time.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Eightcap supports more than 15 deposit options—including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, UnionPay, POLi, BPay, Skrill, Neteller, and more—processing most deposits within 24 business hours, with some methods instant; deposit minimums and maximums vary by payment provider and region.

THORChain itself is purely crypto-first and doesn’t support fiat deposit methods, but via THORWallet’s THORCash on-ramp you can use debit or credit cards—with no KYC up to certain limits—and bank transfers or local payment methods are coming soon, with rapid processing times.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

KYC is mandatory before trading or withdrawing; there’s no anonymous tier—users must complete basic identity verification (photo ID, proof of address), with advanced checks possibly required for larger withdrawal volumes or specific payment methods.

Through THORCash, users can access purchase services with no KYC up to specific weekly and monthly thresholds; above those limits, verified KYC is required, although THORChain itself never requires any user-level identity verification.

Withdrawals

Withdrawal times depend on method—e-wallets and cards typically process within 1–2 business days, bank transfers up to 3–7 days; crypto (if supported) allows instant withdrawals with minimums often starting around $10–$50 depending on currency and method.

Limits, Timing & Networks

Customer Support

Support is available through email and live chat, with a comprehensive FAQ and knowledge base for common queries; while exact SLA response times aren’t listed, support is generally responsive and available across operational hours.

Support comes via integrated interfaces—THORCash offers 24/7 support in its app, while broader guidance is available through community channels like Discord, docs, and FAQs; email support and help pages aid with troubleshooting.

Languages & Localization

The interface and support materials are localized for multiple regions, including Spanish and euro-denominated clients, with regional configurations to reflect appropriate compliance and fee presentation in local context.

THORWallet app and THORCash on-ramp offer localized experiences including Spanish, display fiat amounts in €, and integrate with regional fiat networks where supported—making the user experience more regionally tailored.

App Quality & Stability

Eightcap’s mobile and desktop platforms (via MT4/MT5 or proprietary portals) are known for polished functionality and regular updates; while no formal crash-rate metric is published, user feedback suggests solid reliability and steady performance.

THORWallet is actively maintained with a focus on stability, native DeFi integration, and frequent updates; its design emphasizes reliability, though precise crash statistics aren’t published publicly.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

Eightcap offers a responsive and consistent trading interface across desktop, web, and mobile, crafted using a scalable design framework for seamless cross-device usability—though it doesn’t present clearly segmented “Lite” or “Pro” modes, the choice of platforms (MT4, MT5, TradingView) naturally scales based on experience and preference.

Learning Curve & Modes THORWallet delivers a clean, mobile-first interface tailored for both newcomers and DeFi practitioners; while there’s no explicit “Lite” or “Pro” mode, the intuitive design layers advanced features like multisig and cross-chain swaps in a way that keeps the core experience user-friendly.

Performance

Eightcap delivers fast order execution with low latency and no major reported platform outages during volatile periods; some users note that high demand environments can stretch KYC processing slightly, but overall it remains efficient and reliable.

Latency & Volatility Resilience Swap transactions execute with minimal delay due to THORChain’s high-throughput infrastructure, and the protocol infrastructure scales automatically to handle volatility surges—resulting in smooth operations even during high-demand periods.

Education

The platform includes a robust demo environment—accessible via MT4/MT5—typically lasting 30 to 35 days, enabling realistic, risk-free practice; educational materials are available though comprehensive academy-style resources or content in Spanish appear limited.

Learning Resources & Spanish Content THORChain’s ecosystem offers educational support through THORChain University (via YouTube), developer documentation, and multilingual resources, though there is no fully featured demo, simulator, or Spanish-specific academy yet beyond community material.

Community

There’s no strong evidence of active community forums, Discord, or Telegram channels officially hosted by Eightcap, and details around a structured referral program are not prominently displayed—suggesting community engagement is more organic or via broader social and review platforms.

Forums, Chat & Referral Program A robust community thrives through THORChain’s Discord, developer Discord, and active forums; THORWallet also includes a referral mechanism that rewards affiliate activity and invites strategic growth.

Integrations

Eightcap shines in integrations, offering seamless TradingView connectivity, support for automated strategies via MT4/MT5 environments, and accessibility through API/WebSocket channels—though dedicated tax tools or accounting integrations don’t appear to be offered.

Tools & Tax Support The ecosystem integrates seamlessly with wallets like Ledger, SwapKit-powered platforms, and interfaces such as Rujira and Defispot; however, there’s no native TradingView, tax-tool integration, or external bot support built-in.

Who Each One Is Best For

This platform is ideal for active and technically minded traders who value speed, integration flexibility, and advanced charting—especially those comfortable navigating MT4/MT5 or TradingView—while casual or education-focused users seeking built-in community tools or localized learning may find it less tailored to their needs.

THORChain shines for DeFi and self-custody enthusiasts who value cross-chain flexibility and emergent DeFi integrations; it’s less suited to users seeking demo trading, advanced charting, or automated strategies.