Aurora, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain built on the NEAR Protocol, experienced a disruption that temporarily affected access to its mainnet, raising concerns among users and developers relying on the network. According to information shared by blockchain monitoring platform Onchain Lens, the Aurora mainnet became unavailable at approximately 05:16:11, and the service interruption was still ongoing when the incident was reported.
The outage affected Aurora’s mainnet, leaving users unable to access the network while the development team had yet to disclose the cause of the disruption.
Network’s TVL remains far below its 2022 peak following prolonged market contraction
Aurora was designed to extend Ethereum’s capabilities by allowing decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts developed for Ethereum to operate on the NEAR Protocol. Through its EVM compatibility, the platform enables developers to migrate Ethereum-based applications with minimal code modifications, offering an alternative environment intended to reduce transaction costs while improving scalability and processing efficiency.
The blockchain attracted considerable attention during its early growth phase. In 2021, Aurora secured approximately $12 million in funding from several well-known venture capital firms, including Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, and Dragonfly Capital. The investment reflected strong confidence in the project’s potential to address Ethereum’s network congestion and high transaction fees, challenges that were driving demand for scalable blockchain alternatives at the time.
Aurora subsequently established a notable presence within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector as users and developers sought lower-cost blockchain infrastructure. The platform benefited from growing adoption during the broader expansion of the cryptocurrency market, positioning itself as one of several Ethereum-compatible networks competing for DeFi activity.
However, the network’s growth has reversed significantly over the past few years. Data from DeFiLlama indicates that Aurora’s total value locked (TVL), a widely used measure of assets committed to decentralized finance protocols, reached approximately $2.5 billion in 2022. Since then, the figure has fallen dramatically to roughly $4.65 million, representing a decline of about 99%. The decrease has largely mirrored the broader contraction across cryptocurrency markets, accompanied by lower user participation and reduced capital flowing into decentralized finance applications.
Aurora’s total value locked has declined from nearly $2.5 billion in 2022 to approximately $4.65 million, highlighting the network’s sharp contraction in activity over recent years.
Despite the ongoing service interruption, Aurora had not issued an official statement explaining the underlying cause of the outage at the time of reporting. As a result, it remained uncertain whether the disruption stemmed from a technical failure, scheduled maintenance, infrastructure-related issues, or another operational factor.
⚠️ JUST IN: Aurora (@auroraisnear) mainnet has been down since 02:16:11 UTC today.
Track: https://t.co/B8bCtNOOcA pic.twitter.com/Liu2zuDSQI
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) July 20, 2026
Industry observers noted that blockchain network outages can have temporary consequences for users by interrupting transaction processing and affecting decentralized applications, smart contract execution, and DeFi services built on the affected infrastructure. Such incidents may also delay transfers and limit access to blockchain-based financial activities until normal operations are restored.
Industry analysts indicated that disruptions of this nature can temporarily interrupt transactions, decentralized finance services, and smart contract functionality, while users were encouraged to monitor Aurora’s official communication channels for further updates.
With no confirmed timeline for full service restoration, the Aurora development team is expected to continue investigating and resolving the issue. Until additional information becomes available, users and developers are likely to rely on official project announcements for updates regarding the network’s operational status and the measures being taken to restore normal functionality.
