Thread by @ErikTrautman

Today, the Aurora project (@auroraisnear) launched on #NEAR, combining EVM compatibility with bridge functionality to make NEAR the first L1 which can operate as a turbocharged L2 for #Ethereum.
near.org/blog/aurora-la…
Here’s what that means and why it’s win/win/win 👇

For starters, #NEAR is a smart contract platform on the NEAR Protocol blockchain, which uses a novel consensus to keep block times at about 1 second and sharding to ensure it scales.
Normally, contracts are async and written in #rust or #assemblyscript.

But smart contracts are arbitrary code without boundaries. Imagine if you could build a smart contract on NEAR which took advantage of the underlying performance of NEAR but could run the synchronous #solidity apps which power Ethereum?

And imagine if you could shift assets or function calls back and forth between this contract and the existing Ethereum ecosystem? If you could drag-and-drop solidity apps into this environment to take advantage of the performance upgrade?

Many so-called “layer 2" or "sidechain” solutions for Ethereum use this basic formula too -- run EVM and bridge with the base Ethereum chain to move assets between. They rely on the security model of Ethereum and usually have their own tokens.

@auroraisnear uses similar components -- EVM, bridge and performant chain -- but adds some things that a typical L2 doesn’t have like the ability to use $ETH as the base currency for transactions and the easy interface to a full layer one ecosystem.

This is because, rather than being stuck on an “L2 island” once assets move into Aurora, EVM-based smart contracts can make calls into the broader, asynchronous ecosystem of #NEAR.

This combines the best of both worlds as follows:

With the EVM compatibility, projects that have been waiting for an ETH-based scaling solution for Ethereum now have it. They can deploy (or redeploy) to NEAR with almost no code changes and the same usability as a typical L2 solution (eg metamask works).

With access to the NEAR ecosystem, these projects have the ability to interface with the consumer web via the highly flexible NFT, DAO and other user-facing contracts built on NEAR. This means they can access *users* like never before.

Together, these extend the existing Ethereum ecosystem like an L2 but give it access to the consumer web via high usability smart contracts in NEAR’s native environment... yet another example of the symbiosis of the two ecosystems.

It’s great for the $ETH token, which finds new utility. It’s great for solidity-based apps, which access both performance and usability. It’s great for #NEAR, which instantly gets a host of reliable contracts that can hold $billions.

Now the Eth ecosystem can issue NFTs from creators or DAOs to communities where end users can best benefit from them and the NEAR ecosystem can lean on defi while keeping value in $ETH.

That's a win/win/win which ultimately helps everyone ✨

The @NEARProtocol team spent years building extremely strong infra and it's great to see it reaching its potential via what others like @auroraisnear built on top.

Interoperability is just the second step. Just wait for the projects that grow the Creator Economy... 😉