Aurora developers, the Layer 2 (L2) protocol of the NEAR network, have launched a fund of approximately $90 million in AURORA tokens to accelerate the development of DeFi applications.

‼Big news for the Aurora Ecosystem!🔥
Read full article @TheBlock__ 👇https://t.co/TcqQ9ZZa0r

– Aurora (@auroraisnear) 12 May 2022

The initiative is implemented in partnership with Proximity Labs. Aurora Labs has allocated funds from the DAO Treasury.

Proximity will manage the fund and provide grants to developers interested in building projects. dapps on the protocol.

Provides full compatibility with Aurora EVM – A virtual environment for Ethereum applications.

Aurora Labs hopes to make the protocol more attractive to developers from the second largest cryptocurrency network through capitalization.

“Aurora DAO continues its mission to expand the Ethereum economy beyond the blockchain. This grant is the next big step in the development of the Aurora ecosystem, and I’m glad Proximity Labs is our companion,” said Alex Shevchenko, CEO of Aurora Labs.

“Aurora DAO continues its mission to expand the Ethereum economy outside of the Ethereum blockchain. This grant is the next big step in the development of the Aurora ecosystem and I am happy that Proximity Labs is accompanying us on this journey,” said Alex Shevchenko, CEO of Aurora Labs.

– Aurora (@auroraisnear) 12 May 2022

According to DeFi Llama, the total value of funds locked in DeFi protocols on Aurora has exceeded $806 million.

More than 43% of the total belongs to Bastion. In March, the project secured seed funding for an undisclosed amount. In April, Bastion closed its $9 million Series A round led by Three Arrows Capital.

Recall that in May 2021 the NEAR Protocol team launched the Aurora L2 protocol for interaction with Ethereum.