A Beginner’s Guide to the Aurora Ecosystem✨

5 min readMay 31, 2023

Embarking on a journey within a new blockchain ecosystem can be daunting, with numerous unfamiliar elements and a need to find relevant information. To ensure a seamless experience within the Aurora ecosystem, we have created a comprehensive guide that will help you navigate its diverse components and offerings effectively. Starting with a brief overview of what Aurora and its products are, we are going to touch upon its ecosystem’s opportunities, community, and resources.

What is Aurora?

Aurora — is an EVM built on a 3rd generation L1 blockchain NEAR Protocol as well as a platform that provides extensive tooling for any Web3 business to elevate its user experience.

Aurora’s main components are the Aurora Engine runtime, which allows for the seamless deployment of Solidity and Vyper smart contracts, and the Aurora Bridge (based on the Rainbow Bridge technology), providing for the permissionless transfer of tokens and data between Ethereum and Aurora. Thanks to its design there are numerous advantages that Aurora can offer to developers:

Fees up to 1,000x lower than Ethereum’s.
50x more transactions per second compared to Ethereum
2 seconds transaction finality
Aurora can scale indefinitely, by creating replica shards on NEAR, that mimic the original Aurora network
Build on top of the decentralized and climate neutral PoS L1 NEAR Protocol

Aurora’s Unique Products

Aurora Cloud: Aurora Cloud is a comprehensive solution and robust infrastructure designed to launch and support any Web3 initiative. Built upon a cutting-edge tech stack, it offers unparalleled support to businesses seeking to harness the power of blockchain technology. Let’s explore the key pillars of Aurora Cloud and the transformative solutions they provide:

Borealis Business: Revolutionizing the User Experience
Borealis Business is a powerful infrastructure within Aurora Cloud that enables businesses to remove the concept of gas fees from the user experience of their customers. With Borealis businesses can seamlessly support an infinite variety of business models or campaigns unlocking new possibilities and redefining industry standards.
Aurora Pass: Unlocking Opportunities with a Mobile-First Approach
The Aurora Pass digital wallet is designed for mobile-first or mobile-only Web2 companies, facilitating the adoption of blockchain technology in mobile applications with minimal development work and allowing users to authorize transactions using the same biometric facilities like Touch ID and Face ID.
Aurora Silos: Customized Solutions for Specific Needs
Lastly, Aurora Silos are customer-specific, dedicated blockchains, running on the Borealis Business infrastructure and providing an unparalleled feature set. They go beyond Ethereum compatibility, allowing customers to design and implement their own custom tokens, tokenomics, and even transaction fee mechanics, to support any imaginable blockchain business model.

Aurora Cloud is currently in beta, interested parties can access it by registering for a trial on the following link: https://auroracloud.dev/demo.

Ecosystem, Resources & Community

Aurora Dapps

The Aurora ecosystem continues to expand with new projects being added on a daily basis. As of the time of writing, there are already 283 projects within the Aurora network, each designed to meet different user requirements. From decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and lending platforms to gaming and NFT marketplaces, the Aurora DApp ecosystem offers a wide range of opportunities for both users and developers. To explore these projects in more detail, you can visit our ecosystem page. For a comprehensive overview of the Aurora and NEAR ecosystem as a whole, the Awesome NEAR page is also available as a valuable resource.

Developer & Marketing Resources

Aurora has set in place different resources to help new projects and developers kickstart their projects or simply experiment with Aurora. These are the Aurora Developer Portal and the Partner Program.

The Aurora Developer Portal serves as a dedicated platform created and maintained by the DevRels team at Aurora Labs. With regular updates, this website offers a wealth of technical blogs, tutorials, and in-depth insights into the latest advancements in Aurora technologies. It serves as a centralized hub where developers can conveniently access all the necessary resources and documentation related to Aurora and its partners. Whether you are interested in building applications on Aurora or simply eager to learn more about this innovative platform, the Aurora Developer Portal provides a user-friendly and accessible gateway to explore and engage with the world of Aurora.

The Aurora Partner Program is a program designed to provide comprehensive support to builders in the form of mentorship, marketing, and business development. The Partner Program helps projects building on Aurora connect with venture capitalists, provide technical assistance by establishing a direct line of communication with the Aurora Labs tech team and mentorship from the CEO. Additionally, the program envisions marketing support in form of consultations, media coverage, and support from the Aurora community. The Aurora Partner Program is open to projects currently building on Aurora, and interested parties can apply through the following application form.

Aurora Community

The Aurora Labs community is a diverse and global network, consisting of 10 regional communities spread across various continents and countries. These communities, along with several dedicated media outlets, play a crucial role in disseminating Aurora-related news and updates throughout the ecosystem. Each regional community operates in its own language and actively participates in both online and in-person events. They contribute to content creation, share news and information, and foster engagement within their respective regions. These vibrant communities and media outlets form an integral part of the Aurora ecosystem, promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and fostering a sense of belonging among its members. There are different ways to engage with the community, whether becoming an active guild member or by participating in community events. For this we have both a Community Grants Program and an Aurora Community Board to stay on top of all things Aurora.

Community Grants Program

The Community Grants Program is aimed at fostering engagement and spreading awareness about Aurora and the projects building on its ecosystem. It is available for community members, content writers, influences, and designers passionate about Aurora and its mission.

Community Board

The Aurora Community Board serves as the ideal platform for staying informed about events, discovering new projects, and staying updated on your favorite Aurora communities. By providing e statistics and insights, the Community Board enables you to monitor the growth and progress of the Aurora ecosystem. Whether you’re an enthusiast, developer, or simply curious about Aurora, the Community Board is your go-to resource for staying connected and informed.

This guide provides a general overview of the Aurora Labs blockchain ecosystem and is by no means exhaustive. Please refer to official documentation and official communication channels for more detailed information on any point we touched upon in this brief outline.