Aurora (AURORA): An EVM-Compatible L2 on the NEAR Protocol
The ongoing explosion of web3 technology has attracted a lot of traditional businesses to the crypto space. However, some companies struggle with the transition from Web 2.0 to web3. This is where Aurora hopes to provide value. Aurora Labs provides a valuable service for professional businesses looking to branch out into the web3 world. Its tools and technology also provide some exciting opportunities for crypto enthusiasts. Explore this guide to learn how crypto investors can profit from Aurora and the AURORA token.
Key Takeaways:
Aurora is a blockchain ecosystem that runs on the NEAR protocol.Â
Aurora is fully compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), and functions as a Layer 2 system that improves Ethereum's scalability and usability.
Looking to trade Aurora tokens? Bybit now offers the AURORA/USDT Spot trading pair. To celebrate this listing, Bybit is holding three exclusive events where you can earn a share of the 455,000 AURORA and 30,000 USDT prize pools.
What Is Aurora?
Aurora is a blockchain ecosystem that runs on the NEAR protocol. It's fully compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), and functions as a Layer 2 system that improves Ethereum's scalability and usability.
History of Aurora
Aurora was founded in 2021 by Alex Shevchenko, a Ukrainian IT worker who specializes in high-performance computing. He has a PhD in applied physics and mathematics, and worked as a blockchain CTO and a project head for the past nine years. Spending time working with Bitfury to develop one of the first Layer 2 enterprise blockchain platforms, Shevchenko became interested in blockchain opportunities. Eventually, he left Bitfury to work on NEAR, and while he was helping to develop NEARâs ecosystem, Shevchenko noticed its potential for Layer 2 applications. From this simple concept, the full Aurora ecosystem was developed.
What Does Aurora Aim to Achieve?
Aurora stands out from other Layer 2s built on the NEAR network due to its uniquely business-focused attitude. The Aurora team noticed that many Web 2.0 businesses were struggling with the transition to web3 designs. Their aim is thus to simplify and streamline the whole process for Ethereum users. They began by tackling common complaints from companies, such as high gas fees that keep customers from using secure blockchain ledgers. Next, they aimed to integrate an entire set of helpful tools to let companies set up their own custom chains. Aurora hopes these unique services will make it much easier to move popular services like gaming and renewable energy into the web3 space.
How Does Aurora Work?
Aurora relies on a relayer-based architecture. It starts with a user sending a signed transaction on the Ethereum virtual machine. A remote procedure call on Aurora then wraps the Ethereum transaction into a NEAR transaction. The wrapped transaction is sent to the NEAR blockchain, where a smart contract unwraps it and calculates gas fees. The next step transforms the transaction into an Aurora smart contract call. Finally, the Aurora engine executes the transaction, calculates final transaction fees and sends the transaction to its final destination.
Features of Aurora
The Aurora ecosystem contains a vast network of smart contracts and tools. People interested in running projects on the Aurora engine can enjoy the following features.
Rainbow Bridge
The Rainbow Bridge is an easy way to send information between the EVM, NEAR blockchain and Aurora blockchain. The Aurora bridge lets users quickly send funds between various chains and works with a variety of wallets, including Coinbase, MetaMask, Rabby and Brave. The bridge offers both desktop and mobile versions.
Aurora+
Aurora+ is a user account system that functions as the gateway to the Aurora network. Aurora and Ethereum users can sign in with an Aurora Pass and get free transactions. The Aurora+ system also makes it easy to find apps or stake tokens. People can use it to earn rewards and explore all of the fun features provided by ecosystem partners.Â
Aurora Chain
Aurora is a comprehensive blockchain for people to design projects. It's fully interoperable with all Ethereum projects, and is simple to use. Ethereum developers can use all of their standard designs on Aurora by simply changing the RPC endpoint. As a Layer 2, the Aurora blockchain offers more scalability and lower fees than the main Ethereum chain.
Aurora Pass
Aurora Pass is a wallet that offers many perks for ecosystem users. People sign up with their email, Google ID or Apple ID in order to use this convenient mobile app. It offers secure private keys without requiring extensive onboarding. Pass members also get free transactions and password management options.
Aurora Cloud
Aurora Cloud is a system specifically for Web 2.0 users. It offers the same features as the base chain, but it's designed to be much simpler to use. Ecosystem partners who design projects on Aurora Cloud can enjoy straightforward language, streamlined menus and systems designed to be compliant with business regulations.Â
Aurora Road Map
In the three years since its creation, Aurora has launched its Layer 2 network and designed user features such as bridges and NFTs. In the summer, Aurora plans to focus on developing its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and token. The Aurora team also plans to develop more helpful features, including a faster Aurora bridge, stablecoin payments for transaction fees and a streamlined user experience. For 2025, Aurora hopes to transition to the sharded design that the EVM is currently debuting in the hope that a sharded version of Aurora will lower high gas fees and further improve transaction speed.
AURORA Tokenomics
AURORA, an ERC-20 token, functions as the governance token for the Aurora DAO. Its fixed supply of 1 billion tokens will be allocated according to the following plan:
DAO treasury: 35.2%
Community treasury: 20%
Aurora Labs incentives: 16%
Aurora Labs investors: 9%
Aurora staking rewards: 5.9%
Grant programs: 3.1%
Aurora validator rewards: 3%
Aurora Labs growth round: 3%
Early contributor rewards: 2%
Project advisor incentives: 1%
Ecosystem bootstrapping: 1%
Bug bounty: 0.8%
AURORA Price Prediction
The AURORA token has experienced some wild price swings, initially selling for $9 before suddenly spiking to $32. Since late 2022, the tokenâs price has gradually dropped from $1 to around $0.05. However, new feature releases from Aurora have resulted in a lot of interest for their token. Beginning in 2024, token prices have retraced above $0.10 and continued to climb. AURORAâs current price is hovering around $0.15 as of Jun 20, 2024.
This upward movement has resulted in a bullish outlook for AURORA. Social media is filled with users predicting AURORA prices will continue to rise. CoinCodex backs up this prediction with an analysis suggesting prices will reach $0.74 by the end of 2025. If the hype continues to build, the coin may even go close to $1 again by 2029.
Where to Buy AURORA
Looking to trade Aurora tokens? Bybit now offers the AURORA/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, youâll first need to create a Bybit account, fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the AURORA/USDT Spot trading page.
To celebrate this listing, Bybit is holding three exclusive events where you can earn a share of the 455,000 AURORA and 30,000 USDT prize pools.
The first event, Deposit to Earn, will reward 100 AURORA each to the first 3,600 new users who complete the following two steps by Jun 20, 2024, 9AM UTC:
Sign up for a Bybit account and complete Identity Verification.
Accumulate a deposit volume of at least 600 AURORA, or deposit at least 100 USDT and trade 100 USDT worth of AURORA via your first trade using your Bybit account.
The second event, Trade to Earn, is being held through Jun 20, 2024, 9AM UTC. Simply trade at least 500 USDT worth of AURORA on Spot during the event period to grab a share of the 95,000 AURORA prize pool. The more you trade, the larger your share of the prize pool. Rewards will be capped at 5,000 AURORA per user.
The third event, AURORA x Referral Boost, runs through Jun 20, 2024, 9AM UTC. Invite your friends to sign up for a Bybit account with your referral code and complete either of the two above events. Youâll receive 6 USDT for every successful referral (up to five successful referees).Â
Is AURORA a Good Investment?
Right now, the AURORA token looks like an exciting option with high trade volume, increasing prices and plenty of online hype. However, it's important to keep in mind that this token also has a long history of underperforming. While savvy investors can capitalize on price spikes, it's unclear whether AURORA will experience long-term growth.Â
NEAR and the Layer 2 Aurora Network have some fans, but the system is still struggling to become an everyday tool within the crypto space. If you plan on buying AURORA tokens, make sure to research market conditions carefully, and don't invest more than you can afford to lose. Buying and selling at the right time will be critical to success.
Closing Thoughts
Aurora Labsâ project is an engaging application of the NEAR ecosystem. Its combination of simpler smart contracts, lower transaction fees and more support for Ethereum developers is quite promising. While Aurora has struggled in the past to stand out from the competition, growing interest in its token may lead to more users for the NEAR network. Make sure to keep an eye on this intriguing project in the upcoming months.
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