Aurora+: Welcome to the Gasless blockchain!

Before I share details about the project I want to clarify right at the start that the gases transactions on Aurora are limited to 50 transactions a month so it is not unlimited but considering that most of us will not do more than than on a new blockchain we are trying out it is a pretty good deal.

What Exactly is Aurora?

Aurora is an EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) based blockchain built upon NEAR protocol. Their aim is to provide an environment to developers to run their apps in Ethereum compatible ecosystem that is scalable and cost efficient.

They network already has it’s own native token called AURORA but ETH is used to pay the gas fees for all transactions. Staking functionality is already available for AURORA with about 28% APY being rewarded currently.

Aurora is already integrated with Metals and Brave wallet, I am using Metamask for all interactions with the system.

I used the Rainbow Bridge app to move funds from Ethereum to Aurora - https://rainbowbridge.app/transfer

To enjoy the 50 free transactions on Aurora network that I mentioned earlier you need to sign up for Aurora+ program on https://aurora.plus

Now What is Aurora+?

Aurora+ is the platform where you can stake you Aurora tokens, perform swaps to other Aurora compatible tokens, look at all the apps related to DeFI, Gaming, NFTs which are already available on Aurora.

In the staking dashboard you can see which are the rewards you are earning on your staked AURORA tokens. Besides the additional AURORA tokens you get as direct staking rewards there are many additional tokens from the participant projects n the ecosystem that keep getting accredited to your account. Some of the projects rewarding AURORA stagers are:

Bastion- This is a platform that offers lending functionalities and low slippage swaps.

Trisolaris- This is the biggest DEX (Decentralized Exchange) on Aurora that controls over 95% of the TVL (total value locked) on Aurora. It plays a key role is providing liquidity to the projects running on Aurora.

Aurigami- It is a money market on Aurora that has introduced the concept of Liquid Locked tokens.

These rewards by the projects will be distributed in a model that will be linearly decreasing over a period of 4 years. Currently the rewards will be boosted about 3.4X which would reduce to 3X at the end of the year, then 2X the following year and so on.

Popular Apps on Aurora

There is already a wide range of NFT markets and Games which are live on Aurora. Apollo42 and tofuNFT already have decent user bases.

When I was trying the games that are launched on Aurora the one that I found really interesting is WORDL, where you need to guess a 5 letter word in 6 chances. If you would like to have a look at the game you can access it here - https://wordleaurora.com/

Referral Program & Future Airdrop

Aurora+ is currently running a referral program under which if you register through referral and stake more than 100 AURORA tokens then both the referrer and referee get bonus 10 AURORA tokens. Currently each AURORA is worth about $0.17 so getting 100 tokens will be worth about $17.

Referral Link - If you are interested in joining the project you can use my referral link below:

https://aurora.plus/r/d8dd35ee

Though there is no confirmed news on the airdrop it looks highly likely that they will give some additional rewards to early adopters on the platform which can be through an airdrop or extra benefits on the staked tokens.

There is also the possibility that some of the projects working on Aurora might do there own airdrop. To maximise my chances I am interacting with all major apps on Aurora to ensure I am eligible in case an airdrop happens in the future.

Cheers,

Sam