Aurora:- Institutions and the world is moving On-chain. With this shift, there’s a growing need for customizable blockchains that can tailor to specific needs.
But launching and maintaining a blockchain comes with serious challenges. From choosing the right consensus mechanism to keeping up with the validator nodes – the whole process becomes time consuming and economically unviable. However, a NEAR-based Protocol Aurora hopes to make it easy.
Aurora has unveiled a new plug-and-play platform, called Aurora Cloud Console (ACC) Marketplace. Rather than launching standalone blockchains, users can deploy built‑in, customizable “Virtual Chains” in minutes.
Near Protocol while teasing the announcement said, “The fastest way to launch a chain? Don’t launch one. Deploy a virtual chain with Aurora.”
Everyone deserves a chain.
200 launched. 1,000 coming.
And now, they’re launching with more than Aurora & @NEARProtocol
They are launching with the best of Web3, already plugged in.Introducing the Aurora Cloud Console Marketplace 🛠️👇 pic.twitter.com/rP7Q6RKvxc
— Aurora (@auroraisnear) June 4, 2025
What exactly is Aurora’s Marketplace and Virtual Chain
As per the Press Release shared with BrandTalk, Aurora Labs’ Aurora Cloud Console (ACC) Marketplace is a modular Web3 integration platform designed to make launching custom blockchains as simple as clicking a button.
Inside the ACC marketplace, it integrates virtual‑chain deployment, plug‑and‑play services, and cross‑chain tools into a single interface. With this, it aims to eliminate the technical slog or the “Infra fatigue” as CEO Alex Shevchenko calls which has long discouraged enterprises from building on decentralized networks.
It includes simple steps of launching a blockchain –
1. Choose whether you need the public or private permissions chain followed by the
2. Base token of your chain and then3. Defining the gas metrics
3. And the last step being naming the chain as per what the user wants.
Aurora’s ACC further includes various integrations including identity/KYC, fiat on‑ramps, AMMs, oracles and gas‑management tools.
CEO Alex Shevchenko has revealed that the RWA project Optima is already using its virtual chain deployment. Further, since all the virtual chains are interoperable, it implies that any dApps built on NEAR can interact among each other.
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It is interesting to note that at its core, Aurora is a “network of virtual chains” operating atop NEAR Protocol. Each Virtual Chain is an on‑chain EVM implementation deployed as a NEAR smart contract.
This architecture implies that every new chain that’s being launched under ACC instantly inherits NEAR’s security. This includes 235+ validators staking over $2.5 billion, 2-second finality and ultra-low fees, all without needing to bootstrap a dedicated validator set.
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Web2 SaaS Comes to Web3
Blockchain use cases are diversifying from decentralized finance (DeFi) to real‑world asset tokenization. With this, the demand for specialized, high‑performance chains continues to surge. Aurora’s ACC Marketplace arrives at a pivotal moment, promising to shift the narrative from “blockchain is too complex” to “blockchain is just another IT project.”
Without writing infrastructure code, teams select their desired add‑ons from the marketplace catalog to launch a fully operational chain. Enterprises in finance, supply chain, gaming and digital identity can be immensely beneficial with this. This approach mirrors how enterprises deploy cloud resources today, bringing familiar SaaS patterns into the Web3 domain.
Thus, with NEAR’s robust security and Aurora’s virtual chains, the ACC marketplace could redefine how enterprises approach Web3 innovation in 2025 and beyond.
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Sneha Agrawal 
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