Aurora Labs Introduces ACC Marketplace to Ease Blockchain Launch Challenges

In the wake of launching a new blockchain, many founders encounter unexpected challenges. Deploying a chain, whether standalone or on an existing platform, is just the beginning. The real hurdles emerge post-launch, as teams struggle to transform a basic network into a thriving ecosystem with real users, integrations, and sustainable activity.

Statistics reveal that around 90% of blockchain projects initiated since 2017 have failed to gain traction and have been abandoned. This highlights the common issue of teams pouring immense effort into launching, only to struggle with what comes next. The causes range from technical hurdles to a lack of clear use-cases, but the outcome is the same: without guidance and infrastructure, a newly launched chain can quickly become a ghost town.

One major reason for this post-launch stagnation is the complexity of infrastructure and integrations. Teams often lose momentum wrestling with a myriad of technical additions such as assimilating oracles for price data, bridges for cross-chain asset transfers, identity modules for user management, and analytic tools for monitoring activity. This phenomenon is known as ‘infrastructure fatigue.’

Unexpected infrastructure costs or delays can also derail early progress, leaving users with no explorer to view transactions, no bridges to bring liquidity, and no real-world data feeding into smart contracts. This results in an empty ecosystem that fails to attract and retain users.

To address these post-launch dilemmas, Aurora Labs, known for its EVM-compatible network on NEAR Protocol, recently introduced the Aurora Cloud Console (ACC) Marketplace. This no-code, plug-and-play console is designed to make launching and growing a blockchain dramatically easier.

The ACC Marketplace allows teams to deploy a Virtual Chain rapidly, with an array of powerful features and integrations already built in. Founders can select from a catalog of ready-made infrastructure modules and have them pre-configured in just a few clicks. The console incorporates tools spanning identity verification, payments, data oracles, computing, data indexing, and security services, all of which are key elements that a modern decentralized application or network might need.

Through a simple dashboard interface, founders configure their chain’s settings and pick which integrations they want from the marketplace catalogue. When they hit “deploy,” Aurora Cloud spins up the new chain with all the selected services pre-wired and active. Each integration available has been reviewed and hardened for production use, ensuring reliability and security.

Founders considering Aurora’s ecosystem can choose from one of two main paths: building on the existing Aurora Mainnet or launching a Virtual Chain. Each path comes with its own post-launch scenario, with the Aurora Cloud Marketplace designed to support projects in both instances.

For teams that deploy their dApps directly on Aurora’s mainnet, much of the baseline infrastructure is immediately available. The Aurora mainnet is a live, shared network with a bridge to Ethereum, block explorers, and a growing community of users. However, founders still need to plug in services like oracles for external data, identity and compliance modules for user onboarding, or analytics to track usage.

The Aurora Cloud Marketplace serves as a one-stop directory of battle-tested integrations and partners that a project on Aurora can leverage. Even if a dApp is not launching its own chain, the marketplace’s offerings can be integrated into the application’s smart contracts or backend with guidance from Aurora’s ecosystem team.

For founders who choose to launch their own Virtual Chain through Aurora Cloud, the experience is even more streamlined. This path offers a custom blockchain environment that inherits the security and validator infrastructure of NEAR Protocol, but is fully customizable and dedicated to the project’s needs. The Aurora Cloud Console makes this path viable even for small teams or non-technical founders by handling the heavy infrastructure lifting.

Typically, setting up things like an on/off-ramp for fiat or integrating with a centralized exchange can be costly and time-consuming. Aurora flips this script and makes features available at launch, including on-ramps, CEX connectivity, oracle feeds, cross-chain bridges, and more. Because the Virtual Chain inherits NEAR’s validator set and Aurora’s infrastructure, the new chain instantly enjoys a high level of security and performance.

In recent times, there has been growing interest in AI-native chains tailored to support AI agents, data marketplaces, or machine learning models. Founders in this domain can launch an AI-oriented chain with specialized modules for identity and data management tools through the Aurora Cloud Marketplace. Partners like Billions Network provide verifiable digital identity and zero-knowledge privacy solutions crucial for AI applications that require trust and privacy.

Similarly, for startups bringing Real World Assets (RWA) or other traditional financial products onto the blockchain, Aurora’s marketplace offers robust oracle services to source real-time off-chain data about asset prices or interest rates from day one. This greatly accelerates the timeline from a conceptual RWA product to a functional marketplace where real assets can be issued and traded with confidence.

By enabling a launch with comprehensive features and continuing to support projects post-launch, Aurora significantly shortens the journey from a bold idea to a fully-fledged product. This approach addresses the common challenges faced by blockchain founders and provides a pathway to transforming a bare-bones network into a living ecosystem.