Aurora Launches on NEAR Protocol, Providing Ethereum Layer-2 Experience
Aurora, an Ethereum Layer-2 protocol that provides developers and users the experience of Ethereum on top of NEAR Protocol, a scalable blockchain-based developer platform, has officially launched. Aurora combines two pieces of technology to create a seamless experience: a full-featured Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and a powerful cross-chain bridge. Developers can launch their Ethereum decentralized applications (dApps) on Aurora within minutes by linking to other Ethereum contracts and assets.
Due to increasing traffic in global network activity, Ethereum transaction fees have reached record highs. Aurora bypasses these growing costs by capping gas fees to ensure they do not infinitely increase, maintaining an average transaction cost of a few cents. Aurora manages to lower costs while radically speeding up transactions, which achieve finality within two seconds. Aurora lets developers deploy existing Solidity and Vyper contracts with no changes, while users can seamlessly access these applications using MetaMask and other Ethereum wallets. At the same time, ERC-20 tokens and contract data will be transferable from Ethereum to Aurora through the trustless Aurora bridge (based on the Rainbow Bridge). With low costs, best-in-class transaction finality, and scalability, Aurora redefines what is possible in the Ethereum ecosystem while also expanding NEAR’s ecosystem with the inclusion of every EVM-based application.
“With Aurora, Ethereum users can work with familiar applications while benefiting from the efficiency of NEAR, removing a steep financial barrier to entry for users and developers,” said Illia Polosukhin, Co-founder of NEAR Protocol. “Our goal is to create an interoperable future where the gaps between blockchains, developers and users are bridged. Aurora does just that by allowing for a seamless user experience and allowing for assets to pass uninterrupted between the Ethereum and NEAR blockchains, thereby merging economies and facilitating the development of creator communities that will bring this technology to the mainstream.”
Aurora is fully compatible with Ethereum 1.0, including base fees paid in ETH and out-of-the-box operability with all existing wallets and other tools. To start using Aurora, please visit https://aurora.dev.
About Aurora
Aurora is an Ethereum Layer-2 built on top of NEAR Protocol. Aurora delivers 1000x lower transaction fees compared to Ethereum and sub-two-second transaction finalization. Aurora is fully interoperable with Ethereum, with ETH used as a base token and all existing Ethereum tools usable out of the box. Aurora includes the trustless Rainbow bridge, allowing for bidirectional transfers of any information from Ethereum, including ERC-20s. To learn more about Aurora, please visit https://aurora.dev.
About NEAR Protocol
NEAR Protocol is a blockchain-based, ultra-scalable, developer-friendly platform for decentralized applications. NEAR’s platform provides decentralized storage and compute that is secure enough to manage high value assets like money or identity and performant enough to make them useful for everyday people, putting the power of the Open Web in their hands.
NEAR Protocol uses a technique called “sharding” which splits the network into multiple pieces so that the computation is done in parallel. Parallelism radically increases throughput and allows the network to scale up as the number of nodes on it increases. With NEAR, there isn’t a theoretical limit on the network’s capacity.
Core contributors of NEAR have won multiple world championships in competitive programming and worked at major tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Niantic. To learn more about the NEAR Protocol, please visit https://near.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210512005215/en/
Contact information
KC Maas
near@wachsman.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Zayed Sustainability Prize Honours Global Pioneers Advancing Progress14.1.2026 03:35:00 EET | Press release
The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering award for innovative solutions to global challenges, today announced the cohort of 2026 winners, celebrating 18 years of empowering communities and driving inclusive, sustainable progress around the world. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260113958706/en/ The 2026 winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize were recognised by the President of the UAE in Abu Dhabi on 13 January 2026 (Photo: AETOSWire) In a ceremony held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) and attended by Heads of State, Ministers, and business leaders, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, awarded the winners for their outstanding contributions to advancing sustainable development worldwide. H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “The UAE remains firmly committed to supporting efforts that enhance people’s well-being and strengthen the foundations of stabili
Alta Semper Secures USD 57.5 Million from EIB Group and IFC for Growth Fund II to Expand Healthcare Access Across Africa13.1.2026 20:30:00 EET | Press release
Alta Semper Capital LLP (“Alta Semper”), a London-based private equity firm focused on healthcare and consumer investments in high-growth markets, today announced that it has secured USD 57.5 million in commitments to Alta Semper Growth Fund II. These commitments come from a consortium of investors including the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). This landmark partnership was signified earlier today with a momentous signing ceremony held at a Government Ministry in Cairo. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260113837616/en/ Andrew McDowell (EIB), Cheick Oumar Sylla (IFC), Gelsomina Vigliotti (EIB), Rania Al-Mashat (Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation of Egypt), Bassel Rahmy (MSMEDA), Afsane Jetha (CEO, Alta Semper) and Mark Bryson-Richardson MBE (British Ambassador to Egypt) at the signing ceremony in Cairo. (Photo: AETOSWire)
500 Global and Creators HQ Support Creators and Founders Building Startups Collectively Valued at US$130M+13.1.2026 18:00:00 EET | Press release
500 Global, one of the world’s most active Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms1, and Creators HQ, the first content creator hub in the UAE and the Middle East enabling the creator ecosystem globally, announced the Creators Ventures Accelerator program is building and supporting creator-led startups collectively valued at over US$130 million.2 The Creators Ventures Accelerator received over 1,100 applications from content creators and technology startup founders across more than 70 countries. Following a competitive selection process, 21 creators and founders were chosen for the program. This cohort serves a community of 20M+ followers, subscribers, and users across platforms. “Creators represent a growing class of bona fide entrepreneurs, with 50 million creators globally, projected to grow at 10-20% annually over the next 5 years. The first iteration of this industry was built on visibility and virality to monetize. With consumers getting savvier and more discerning, we believe
Nexo Becomes First-Ever Title Partner of the U.S. ATP 500 Dallas Open in Multi-Year Deal13.1.2026 17:30:00 EET | Press release
Nexo, the digital assets wealth platform, has been named the U.S. ATP 500 Dallas Open’s first-ever Title Partner under a multi-year agreement beginning in 2026, as the company advances its long-term brand strategy through leading global sports properties. The partnership was unveiled in Dallas alongside the debut of the Nexo Dallas Open brand and the resurfacing of two public tennis courts in North Texas. As one of only two ATP 500 tournaments in the U.S. and the country’s sole indoor ATP Tour championship, the Dallas Open places Nexo among a limited group of ATP 500 title partners. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260113901822/en/ The Nexo Dallas Open “This partnership with Nexo represents a transformative milestone for the Dallas Open,” said Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs. “Securing a title sponsor of this caliber as we launch into year two as an ATP 500 event continues to elevate our tournament on the gl
Blue Matter Establishes New Capabilities in Biopharma Research & Development Led by Partner, Tara Austraat-Churik13.1.2026 16:01:00 EET | Press release
Blue Matter is pleased to announce that it has established a practice area dedicated to serving clients in biopharmaceutical Research & Development (R&D). The practice is led by Tara Austraat-Churik, a Partner who joined the firm in September 2025. Tara Austraat-Churik has been serving life science clients for more than 20 years. Her areas of expertise include strategy development and implementation, operating model and organizational design, and process optimization in R&D and Medical Affairs. Prior to joining Blue Matter, she served as Managing Director in R&D, Health, Science, and Wellness at EY. She has a robust background in consulting, which also includes roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, Navitas, WPP, and IBM. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Notre Dame and an MSc in Translational Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. The R&D practice, according to Austraat-Churik, exists to help biopharma companies simplify and accelerate the pathway to market. She adds, “R&D organ
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom