Aurora Launches on NEAR Protocol, Providing Ethereum Layer-2 Experience
12.5.2021 15:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
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
Access Advance Welcomes Wave of New Licensees to the HEVC Advance Patent Pool8.7.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Access Advance LLC, the leading HEVC patent pool administrator, today announced a significant expansion of the HEVC Advance Patent Pool, with 28 companies executing licenses in the first half of 2026. The new Licensees span consumer electronics, automotive, telecommunications, industrial technology, and professional security, reflecting the breadth of industries in which HEVC has become a foundational video technology. "HEVC remains the cornerstone of modern video delivery, and the demand we are seeing from new Licensees speaks to the long-term commercial relevance of this technology," said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. "HEVC licensing activity has been consistently strong, and we are pleased to welcome a number of important new participants to the program." Notably, nine video surveillance equipment manufacturers have joined the HEVC Advance program as Licensees, ranging from three of the world's largest video surveillance equipment makers to specialized developers of security
Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up Returns for 48 th Annual Race on Oct. 68.7.2026 01:22:00 EEST | Press release
The Empire State Building Observation Deck (ESB), atop the “World’s Most Famous Building,” today announced that general lottery registration is open for this year's Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up (ESBRU), which will run through July 20, 2026. The annual race, presented by NYU Langone Health and powered by Merrell, will take place on Oct. 6, 2026, at 8 p.m. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707902561/en/ Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up Returns for 48th Annual Race on Oct. 6 This year’s race marks the 48th anniversary of the event, in which 225 runners will race up 1,576 stairs of the iconic New York City landmark to reach the world-famous 86th Floor Observation Deck. “Every year, the Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up is a remarkable feat for all who participate as they race up to Tripadvisor's #1 top attraction in the U.S.,” said Tony Malkin, chairman and CEO of the Emp
Modon's Hudayriyat Golf Estates Sets UAE Record With More Than AED 13 Billion in Sales Within Days of Launch7.7.2026 21:36:00 EEST | Press release
Modon has set a new benchmark for the UAE real estate market with the launch of Hudayriyat Golf Estates on Hudayriyat Island, Abu Dhabi. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707126559/en/ Modon's Hudayriyat Golf Estates sets UAE record with more than AED 13 billion in sales within days of launch (Photo: AETOSWire) Within days of launch, the community achieved record-breaking sales exceeding AED 13 billion, marking the highest publicly recorded sales value for a single residential project launch in the UAE. Comprising an exclusive collection of golf mansions, villas, and townhouses, the development saw 1,700 of its residences sold after few days of launch. The response from buyers and investors reflects confidence in Abu Dhabi’s real estate market and Modon’s development vision, while reinforcing Hudayriyat Island’s position as a premier lifestyle destination. Designed around privacy, wellbeing and premium living
Loomis Sayles Growth Equity Strategies Team Celebrates Twenty-Year Milestones7.7.2026 17:36:00 EEST | Press release
Loomis, Sayles & Company, the century-old investment manager with nearly $418 billion in assets under management, proudly celebrates the 20-year anniversaries of the Loomis Sayles Large Cap Growth and the Loomis Sayles All Cap Growth strategies, as well as a differentiated approach to growth equity investing under the leadership of Aziz V. Hamzaogullari, CFA, the founder, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of the Loomis Sayles Growth Equity Strategies (GES) Team. Aziz is also an executive vice president and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707992418/en/ Celebrating 20 Years of The Power of Active Management Done Right GES is a cohesive team with 20 years of alpha generation and a long-term, private equity approach to investing. Under Aziz Hamzaogullari’s leadership since 2010, assets under management for GES have grown from $1.9 billion to $98.2 billion
Integral Ad Science Appoints Lidiane Jones Chief Executive Officer7.7.2026 16:35:00 EEST | Press release
Integral Ad Science (IAS), one of the world's most trusted media quality companies, today announced the appointment of Lidiane Jones as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Jones succeeds Lisa Utzschneider, who led IAS for more than seven years and will remain with the company as Special Advisor to the Board through the end of 2026 to support a seamless transition. Utzschneider will also serve as a Special Advisor to Novacap and their portfolio companies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707780892/en/ Lidiane Jones: Integral Ad Science CEO, Photo Credit: Pamela Hanson The appointment reflects IAS's long-term strategic vision for the future of digital advertising. As AI transforms how media is planned, bought, measured, and optimized, advertisers increasingly need trusted intelligence to make real-time decisions. Jones's deep expertise across product, technology, and AI uniquely positions IAS to bu
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