What is Aurora?
The Aurora token, or AURORA, is the governance token powering the Aurora DAO. The latter is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) responsible for the governance of the Aurora ecosystem.
AURORA is based on an ERC-20 token standard.
There is a max cap of 1,000,000,000 Aurora tokens. They have been allocated as follows:
- 40.6% - Future DAO Projects;
- 20% - Community Treasury;
- 16% - Aurora Labs Long-term Incentives;
- 9% - Aurora Labs Private Round investors;
- 3% - Aurora Labs Growth Round;
- 3% - Validator Delegators;
- 2.6% - Ongoing Grant Programs;
- 2% - Early Contributors;
- 1.8 % - Ongoing Projects;
- 1% - Project Advisors;
- 1% - Aurora Ecosystem.
You can have a more in-depth look at the AURORA price history, or the current Aurora price, on the graph above.
What are the Main Features of Aurora?
Aurora is an EVM-compatible Layer-2 solution that was developed using the NEAR Protocol. Its core function is to facilitate the seamless integration of decentralized applications (dApps) into the NEAR blockchain.
There are over 150 unique projects on the Aurora ecosystem. They come from different categories, including DeFi, GameFi, NFTs, and wallets, among many others.
Another core component of the Aurora ecosystem is Rainbow Bridge. The latter is Aurora’s tool that enables users to transfer assets between Aurora, NEAR, and Ethereum networks.
Transaction fees on the Aurora network are paid in ETH.
As discussed in the What is Aurora section, Aurora Protocol is governed via the Aurora DAO which is powered by the Aurora token. The decisions are voted on and made by the council members which include Aurora Labs, Principal Investors, and Ecosystem Partners.
Aurora Protocol has been audited by independent parties such as Sigma Prime, Hacken, and Halborn. Audit reports are public and available for anyone to review.
Some of the available tools available on the Aurora network include Aurora Block Explorer, Oracles, AMM Exchange, and Data Index.
Additionally, Aurora offers a Bug Bounty program with a maximum reward of $1,000,000. Independent developers who report issues related to Aurora’s smart contracts or web applications receive monetary rewards.
Who Developed Aurora?
The Aurora crypto project was launched in 2021. It was developed by the NEAR Protocol team.
Alex Shevchenko has been serving as the CEO of Aurora Labs since the inception of the Aurora crypto project. He’s also a product manager at NEAR Protocol. Shevchenko
holds a P.h.D in Applied Physics and Mathematics and has been in the world of crypto since 2015. Prior to Aurora Labs, he worked at SonoCoin and Bitfury.
The role of CTO is taken up by Arto Bendiken - a software engineer with over 20 years of experience. He has worked at the European Space Agency and the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. Besides Aurora Labs, Bendiken has launched Unlicense.org - a tool for making code publicly available.
Other core team members include Frank Baun - Head of Security and Infrastructure, Joshua J. Bouw - Aurora Labs Engine Team Lead, and Kiril Abramov - Aurora Labs Bridge Team Lead.
