What is Aurigami (PLY)?

Quick Facts

  • Protocol type: Decentralized, non-custodial lending and borrowing
  • Blockchain: Aurora — an EVM layer on top of NEAR Protocol
  • Native token: PLY (governance and rewards token)
  • Key innovation: Locked Liquid Tokens (LLT) via the PULP token
  • Funding raised: $12 million in private and public token sales
  • Lead investors: Dragonfly Capital and Polychain Capital
  • Security: Audited by Watchpug; bug bounty up to $500,000 via Immunefi

Introduction

Aurigami is a decentralized money market protocol built on Aurora, allowing users to lend, borrow, and earn interest on their digital assets without intermediaries. It was among the first lending protocols to launch on the Aurora network, bringing familiar DeFi money-market mechanics to the NEAR ecosystem.

Its native token, PLY, serves as both a governance instrument and a liquidity-mining reward, giving holders a say in the protocol's future direction.

History & Background

Aurigami launched on Aurora mainnet in 2022, founded by Lucas Huang and EY Tan. The team quickly established the protocol as one of the top lending platforms on Aurora by TVL.

In 2022, Aurigami completed a combined private and public fundraising round totalling $12 million. The private portion was co-led by Dragonfly Capital and Polychain Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, Mechanism Capital, Amber Group, and others.

How Aurigami Works

Aurigami operates as an overcollateralized lending protocol. Depositors supply assets to liquidity pools and earn passive yield, while borrowers post collateral to take out loans.

A standout feature is the Locked Liquid Token (LLT) model. Instead of distributing all rewards immediately in PLY, Aurigami also distributes PULP — a locked token that represents a future claim on PLY. This design reduces immediate sell pressure from liquidity miners and rewards patient, long-term participants who accumulate PULP at a discount.

Tokenomics

PLY is the core governance and incentive token of the Aurigami ecosystem. A significant portion of the PLY supply is allocated to liquidity mining, rewarding both lenders and borrowers for participating in the protocol.

The dual-token system of PLY and PULP is central to Aurigami's economic design. PULP acts as a time-delayed claim on PLY, aligning incentives between short-term yield farmers and long-term protocol supporters. PLY holders can also participate in LP staking to earn additional rewards.

Circulating supply ? 4.13 billion PLY
Total supply ? 10.00 billion PLY
Max supply ? -- PLY
Updated 10mo ago

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Aurigami supports major assets including ETH, WBTC, WNEAR, USDC, USDT, and stNEAR. The protocol integrates with broader NEAR and Aurora ecosystem projects, including Meta Pool's liquid staking token stNEAR.

Users can interact with Aurigami via a standard MetaMask wallet configured for the Aurora network, making it accessible to anyone familiar with EVM-compatible DeFi.

Team, Governance & Community

The protocol is co-founded by Lucas Huang and EY Tan, who have outlined a vision for cross-chain lending and deeper Aurora ecosystem integrations. Governance is token-driven, with PLY holders empowered to vote on protocol decisions.

The community is active across Discord and Twitter, and the team has maintained transparency through continuous audits and a public risk management dashboard.

Advantages

  • LLT innovation reduces sell pressure and rewards long-term holders
  • Non-custodial design means users retain control of their assets at all times
  • Aurora compatibility provides low-cost, fast EVM transactions backed by NEAR
  • Strong backing from top-tier investors including Dragonfly Capital and Coinbase Ventures
  • $0 bad debt record and continuous security audits reinforce protocol safety

Risks & Challenges

  • Smart contract risk is inherent in all DeFi protocols, despite ongoing audits
  • Aurora/NEAR ecosystem dependency means Aurigami's growth is tied to broader adoption of NEAR
  • Liquidity competition from other Aurora lending protocols can limit TVL growth
  • Token volatility in PLY can affect the economic incentives of the LLT model

Long-Term Vision

Aurigami aims to evolve beyond a single-chain money market by enabling cross-chain lending and borrowing, broadening its asset support, and deepening its gamified DeFi mechanics through the LLT concept. The team envisions Aurigami as a cornerstone liquidity layer for the Aurora and NEAR ecosystems, contributing to infrastructure improvements and driving adoption of decentralized finance across the region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Aurigami is a decentralized, non-custodial lending and borrowing protocol built on Aurora, an EVM-compatible blockchain layer on top of NEAR Protocol. It allows users to lend assets for yield or borrow against collateral.

PLY is the native governance and rewards token of the Aurigami protocol. It is distributed to liquidity providers and borrowers and grants holders voting rights over protocol decisions.

PULP is Aurigami's Locked Liquid Token (LLT), acting as a time-delayed claim on PLY. It is distributed alongside PLY to reduce immediate sell pressure and reward long-term participants.

Aurigami runs on Aurora, which is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) implementation built on top of NEAR Protocol. This gives users fast, low-cost transactions while retaining Ethereum wallet compatibility.

Aurigami was co-founded by Lucas Huang and EY Tan. The project attracted backing from major crypto investors including Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.

Aurigami has undergone smart contract audits by Watchpug and maintains an active bug bounty program through Immunefi. However, all DeFi protocols carry inherent smart contract and market risks.

Aurigami supports assets including ETH, WBTC, WNEAR, USDC, USDT, and stNEAR, with plans to expand its supported asset list over time.

PLY token holders can vote on protocol proposals and changes, making Aurigami a community-governed protocol. Holding and staking PLY increases a user's influence in governance decisions.