What is AURORA Crypto? The Ultimate Guide for 2025

Disclaimer: This article was last updated on April 11, 2025

Over the years, Ethereum has become the most used network for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications in terms of total value locked (TVL). Despite increasing competition from other networks, such as Solana, developers continue to build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) on Ethereum. But the expense of transacting on Ethereum mainnet has encouraged the development of various Layer 2 (L2) networks and scaling solutions. Enter Aurora.

So, what is Aurora? It is a L2 network built on NEAR Protocol, but fully compatible with Ethereum.

Key takeaways

Aurora is a NEAR Layer 2 that is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible.
Aurora allows Ethereum developers to access the transaction speed, fees, and scalability that NEAR offers.
Aurora has a strong focus on blockchain interoperability, with its Rainbow Bridge and LayerZero integration for cross-chain communication.

Aurora's origin story

Aurora launched in May 2021. Aurora and NEAR are inextricably linked, as Aurora was developed by the core NEAR team to create a bridge between Ethereum dApps and the NEAR ecosystem. The team was led by NEAR co-founders Alexander Skidanov, a veteran Microsoft developer, and Illia Polosukhin, a machine learning researcher.

NEAR Protocol is an enterprise-grade, delegated proof-of-stake blockchain powered by its Nightingale sharding technology. This gives it an edge over Ethereum in several areas:

Block finality time: This is the time it takes to process transactions. NEAR executes in 1.3 seconds, while Ethereum can take as little as 15 seconds and as long as 4 hours, depending on the daily traffic load.
Low transaction costs: NEAR is popular for its low transaction costs, known as gas fees, which are dynamic, but are a minimum of 0.0001 NEAR, or currently $0.0002, with an average cost of $0.02. Meanwhile, Ethereum's gas fees can notoriously be very high, depending on how much demand the network is experiencing.
High transaction per second: NEAR can theoretically manage up to 12,000 transactions per second (TPS). Meanwhile, Ethereum is theoretically capable of 110 TPS after The Merge, ranking it lower than NEAR for transaction speed.

From the outset, Aurora was designed to bridge Ethereum and NEAR. It allows Ethereum developers to build, deploy, and scale applications using Solidity — Ethereum’s core programming language — while benefiting from NEAR’s speed and efficiency.

From its inception, Aurora was meant to be a platform that enables users to build Ethereum-compatible applications. It is specifically designed to tap into the rich Ethereum ecosystem of dApps.

In technical terms, Aurora allows developers to port and launch crypto projects written in Solidity smart contracts to NEAR.

“Aurora was never just about being another Layer 2,” said Alex Shevchenko, CEO and co-founder of Aurora Labs in an interview with The Defiant, adding: “We’ve always focused on making it easier for Ethereum developers to access Near’s powerful infrastructure while maintaining full compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem.”

Aurora Labs is the development firm behind Aurora. Its CEO, Shevchenko, previously led the development of Bitfury’s Layer 1 (L1) blockchain, Exonum, which was initiated in 2015.

Comparing Aurora with Ethereum L2s, Temujin Louie, CEO of Wanchain, told The Defiant:

"As a NEAR Layer 2, Aurora may inherit some of the base layer’s advantages. However, Aurora’s EVM compatibility does not give it much of an edge over Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum. Rather, Aurora’s EVM compatibility simply provides the Near ecosystem with a realistic avenue through which to attract Ethereum developers and Dapps."

Understanding EVM-compatibility

To understand how Aurora works, you need to understand the Ethereum Virtual Machine. EVM is the runtime environment for Ethereum smart contracts, typically written in Solidity or other compatible programming languages. As transactions are processed within a block, the EVM executes the relevant smart contract code and updates the shared state across all Ethereum nodes.

Aurora runs as an EVM on the NEAR network, making it capable of running Solidity smart contracts developed for Ethereum and any other EVM-compatible platforms, such as Polygon, Avalanche (C-Chain), and BNB Smart Chain. Thanks to this compatibility, developers can easily port existing Ethereum dApps to the Aurora ecosystem.

DApps built on Aurora have access to NEAR’s features described above, such as high throughput and low transaction fees.

"There are several challenges to maintaining dApp interoperability between Aurora, Near and Ethereum. For one, though Aurora is a NEAR Layer 2, it doesn’t fundamentally change the NEAR network itself. As such, there remain major technological differences between NEAR and Ethereum," Wanchain’s CEO said, adding:

"For instance, these two networks have completely different smart contracts and fee structures, which make it difficult for developers that try to move between the two networks. Additionally, these networks are not static. Ethereum is always evolving. As such, maintaining interoperability is a constant and ongoing challenge."

How does Aurora work?

Aurora runs as a smart contract on Near with two main interfaces: an execution interface for running Ethereum transactions and smart contracts, and a token interface for managing ERC-20 assets. Together, these make it possible for Ethereum-native applications to operate seamlessly on NEAR.

Ethereum transactions are executed with Aurora’s Sputnik VM, an EVM runtime written in the Rust programming language that was adapted by Aurora.

Aurora uses the Rainbow Bridge to allow for cross-chain transfers between the Ethereum, NEAR, and Aurora ecosystems. As with any EVM-compatible dApp, users can access the Rainbow Bridge using popular web3 wallets, such as MetaMask. Rainbow Bridge is a trustless cross-chain repository that transfers any ERC-20 token between Ethereum, Aurora and NEAR.

Aurora’s Token Generation Event

Aurora's native token is called AURORA. The AURORA token powers the Aurora network primarily as a governance token.

The AURORA token generation event (TGE) took place on Nov. 18, 2021, and is capped at 1 billion. Of that, 48% is allocated to Aurora DAO’s future projects, 20% to the community, and the rest to integrate Aurora into dApps, partnerships, initial decentralized exchange (DEX) offerings, known as IDOs, and incentives.

The Aurora DAO is the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that oversees decisions for the Aurora protocol, using its governance token. Token holders can vote on key proposals for the project, such as appointing members to the Council, the DAO’s equivalent to a board of directors.

Interestingly, due to design choices, the Aurora coin doesn't power gas fees on the Aurora chain. ETH is the base currency used for Aurora transaction fees. It works by using an RPC endpoint to wrap Ethereum transactions into a NEAR transaction before sending it to the Aurora contract.

As of the time of writing, Aurora token's circulating supply is around $592.4 million. AuroraDAO set a two-year unlocking scheme to mitigate demand: three months of linear unlocking at a 12.5% rate nine months after the launch (added to the first six months).

The AURORA price peaked at $35.40 in January 2022 and has been trading under $1 since October 2022, according to CoinGecko data.

Aurora’s dApp ecosystem

Thanks to its EVM compatibility, using dApps on Aurora means paying gas fees in ETH. To spur adoption, AuroraDAO set up the Aurora Plus program. Those who register receive 50 free transactions per month. This membership program is also the pathway to Aurora staking, where users receive AURORA tokens and other tokens from partnership projects.

Due to the ease with which EMV-compatible dApps can be ported to Aurora, the ecosystem has hundreds of dApps on offer, including popular ones like:

1inch — a DEX aggregator for token swaps.
Curve — a DEX focused on trading popular stablecoins such as USDT, DAI, and USDC.
Solace — an insurance protocol to protect DeFi ventures from potential losses.

Aurora’s native dApps are also popular. Similar to Aave, Bastion Protocol provides lending and token swapping. When users lock in their tokens into liquidity pools for either scenario, they receive an interest rate.

Another such yield-earning platform is Trisolaris, one of the most popular DEXs on Aurora. As its name implies, Trisolaris is equivalent to Curve’s 3pool, consisting of three tokens: TRI, AURORA, and NEAR. Therefore, if users provide liquidity in any token pair liquidity pool, they can earn dual rewards.

Aurora’s future

Aurora is no longer just a platform that lets developers build EMV-compatible dApps on NEAR. It has evolved into a platform that powers custom blockchain experiences through virtual chains, dubbing itself “the network of virtual chains,” per the project’s official website.

The future Aurora is aiming to build is one where anyone in the blockchain industry can deploy a custom blockchain easily and at a low cost, while not compromising on the chain’s speed and scalability.

“We’re moving beyond just an Ethereum compatibility layer,” Aurora Labs’ CEO told The Defiant. “Aurora is becoming a platform that enables anyone to launch Virtual Chains — customized blockchain instances that are optimized for different use cases.”

FAQs

Where can I buy AURORA?

Like many cryptocurrencies, you can buy AURORA on major centralized crypto exchanges, such as Gate.io, MEXC, and Coinbase. You can also buy AURORA with other cryptocurrencies on select DEXs, including Trisolaris.

What is Aurora Cloud?

Aurora Cloud lets you create and launch virtual chains, which are customizable Aurora blockchains. Virtual chains have become popular because they inherit the qualities of the parent chain, including security and scalability.

Is Aurora an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain?

No, it is not. Aurora is a L2 built on NEAR. However, it provides an Ethereum L2 experience, allowing Ethereum developers to interact with NEAR using familiar tools and services.

What blockchains are compatible with Aurora?

Aurora is designed to be Ethereum-compatible, meaning it supports any blockchain or network that is EVM-compatible. However, since Aurora is built on NEAR Protocol, its primary focus is on enabling compatibility between Ethereum and NEAR.

How many Aurora coins are there?

Per CoinGecko, Aurora's total supply is 999,857,506 coins, while the current circulating supply of AURORA is 592,455,358.

Disclaimer:

This series article is intended for general guidance and information purposes only for beginners participating in cryptocurrencies and DeFi. The contents of this article are not to be construed as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult with your advisors for all legal, business, investment, and tax implications and advice. The Defiant is not responsible for any lost funds. Please use your best judgment and practice due diligence before interacting with smart contracts.