What is Walrus (WAL)? Sui Data Storage Solution Capital $140 Million

In the context where the demand for decentralized data storage with low costs, high reliability, and easy accessibility becomes a core factor, Walrus Protocol - the most prominent project in the Sui ecosystem, is gradually building a flexible, secure, and cost-optimized data storage network for both Web3 users and enterprises. So what is Walrus Protocol (WAL)? Let's explore the details with Allinstation in the article below!

What is Walrus Protocol (WAL)?

Walrus Protocol is a decentralized storage protocol developed on the Sui blockchain, with the goal of providing an efficient, reliable, and programmable blob data storage system. The project allows users to permanently store various types of data such as images, audio, video, documents, or files necessary for dApps, AI, Non-Fungible Tokens, and many other Web3 use cases without affecting network performance or causing on-chain congestion.

Unlike traditional centralized storage systems (such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud...) or even popular decentralized solutions (like Filecoin, Arweave), Walrus does not require multiple data replications to ensure availability. Instead, it uses the RedStuff Erasure Coding technique, which minimizes storage costs while ensuring data durability and recovery capabilities in case of incidents. Moreover, Walrus is designed to be directly integrated with Sui, allowing metadata and Proof of Availability of stored data to be on-chain. This enables smart contracts to directly access and program data, opening up diverse application potentials in the Web3 ecosystem.

In summary, Walrus is not just a storage platform but also an important infrastructure layer that helps Web3 operate more smoothly: from Non-Fungible Tokens, AI, dApps to Layer 2 services and controlled data access.

How does Walrus (WAL) work?

Walrus operates through an architecture model consisting of 6 main components:

• End User: The sender of data (blob) to the network.
• Client: An intermediary interface that helps transmit and retrieve data.
• Publisher: Records data to the storage system.
• Storage Node: Nodes that must stake WAL to participate in the network.
• Aggregator: Compiles data from nodes and provides it back to users.
• CDN/Cache: Provides fast retrieval capabilities, reducing data latency.

Through this distributed architecture, Walrus helps the Sui network process data smoothly, without overload, and ensures superior security.

Products and Technologies of Walrus Protocol (WAL)

Walrus Protocol not only provides a decentralized data storage protocol but also builds many tools and products to support users, developers, and node operators to interact effectively with the network. Below are the typical products that Walrus has and is deploying:

Walrus Client SDK

This is a Software Development Kit for developers who want to integrate decentralized data storage features into their dApps. This SDK helps:

• Directly connect to the Walrus system to upload or retrieve data.
• Automatically encrypt data, create metadata, and send to Publisher.
• Build frontend interfaces for Web3 applications with storage backend on Walrus.

Walrus Node Software

This is software for Storage Nodes, those who operate data storage infrastructure for the Walrus network. Features include:

• Participate in the storage network by staking WAL tokens.
• Communicate with the Publisher system to receive, store, and validate data.
• Receive rewards for providing storage services, depending on contribution level and reliability.

Data Explorer

Walrus is developing a Data Explorer where users can:

• Query blobs being stored on the network.
• Check hash, metadata, proof of availability for each file.
• Monitor network performance, number of storage nodes, and real-time data distribution.

Highlights of Walrus

• Cost-saving: Walrus uses erasure coding for storage, helping to reduce costs multiple times compared to Filecoin or Arweave.
• High security and recovery: Data can be recovered even if 2/3 of nodes fail. No need to trust any intermediary.
• Direct integration with Sui: Metadata, proof of availability, and access are directly mapped on-chain.
• Optimized Web3 experience: Allows building websites, apps, AI, Non-Fungible Tokens… with a completely decentralized storage backend.

Overview of WAL Token and Tokenomics

Basic Information

• Token Name: Walrus
• Ticker: WAL
• Blockchain: Sui
• Contract: 0x356a26eb9e012a68958082340d4c4116e7f55615cf27affcff209cf0ae544f59::wal::WAL
• Token Type: Utility & Governance
• Total Supply: 5,000,000,000 WAL
• Circulating Supply: 1,348,125,000 WAL

WAL Distribution

• Community Reserve: 43%
• Early Contributors: 20%
• Others: 17%
• Mysten Labs: 10%
• Subsidies: 10%

WAL Utilities

• Payment of storage fees
• Staking to become a Storage Node
• Participate in system governance

Development Roadmap

Walrus Protocol has a clear development roadmap, gradually building a cost-optimized, highly secure, and easily integrated decentralized data storage infrastructure for the Web3 ecosystem. Below are the notable milestones in the project's roadmap.

Phase 1 – (Q1–Q2/2024)

• Complete core system architecture, including components: Client, Publisher, Storage Node, Aggregator, CDN/Cache.
• Deploy internal Proof-of-Concept, testing blob encoding and erasure coding capabilities.
• Build an on-chain data integration model with Sui through metadata and proof of availability systems.

Phase 2 – (Q3–Q4/2024)

• Open public Testnet, allowing users to experience actual blob storage.
• Launch test Non-Fungible Tokens (testnet badge) as an early airdrop for the interactive community.
• Launch Developer SDK, API, and Web App interface.
• Optimize end-user experience when downloading and retrieving data from storage nodes.

Phase 3 – Mainnet & TGE (March 2025)

• Officially launch Mainnet, open staking gateway for Storage Nodes.
• Distribute WAL tokens through airdrop program, converting Non-Fungible Tokens → WAL.
• Activate staking function and incentive mechanism for operating nodes.
• Begin integrating Walrus with first Non-Fungible Token and AI dApps on the Sui ecosystem.

Phase 4 – Ecosystem Expansion & Layer-2 Integration (Q2–Q3/2025)

• Deploy advanced data management tools: chart display, blob control, access permission.
• Support data availability storage for Layer-2, expanding cross-chain application capabilities.
• Collaborate with other Web3 projects in gaming, socialFi, and AI to deploy backend storage using Walrus.

Phase 5 – Automation and Sustainable Economic Model (Q4/2025 onwards)

• Integrate dynamic pricing mechanism for storage services, adjusted according to actual supply and demand.
• Launch governance system for community voting on technical changes.
• Build a Data Marketplace platform where users can rent, sell, or share data on Walrus in a decentralized manner.

Development Team, Investors, and Partners

Development Team

Walrus Protocol is developed by Mysten Labs – the technology company behind the prominent Layer 1 blockchain Sui Network. With a vision to build an efficient, secure, and developer-friendly Web3 infrastructure, Mysten Labs has expanded its research into decentralized storage with the Walrus project.

Evan Cheng – Co-Founder & CEO (Mysten Labs)

• Former veteran engineer at Apple and Technical Director at Meta (Facebook).
• He plays a role in shaping the long-term vision and development direction for both Sui and Walrus.

Sam Blackshear – Co-Founder & CTO (Mysten Labs)

• Developer of the Move programming language – the core language on Sui.
• He was previously an engineer at Meta and Microsoft, playing a key role in the technical architecture design of Walrus.

Adeniyi Abiodun – Co-Founder & CPO (Mysten Labs)

• Experienced at major tech companies like Oracle, Meta, and PeerNova.
• He is responsible for product experience and practical application direction of Walrus in the Web3 ecosystem.

Kostas Chalkias – Co-Founder & Chief Cryptographer

• Expert in cryptology and co-founder of Safemarket, former CTO at Erybo.
• He is responsible for encryption layers, data verification, and security mechanisms of the Walrus protocol.

George Danezis – Co-Founder & Chief Scientist

• Professor at University College London (UCL) and former researcher at The Alan Turing Institute.
• He brings a solid academic research foundation to Walrus's erasure coding algorithms and distributed network architecture.

Investors

On 20/03/2025, Walrus Protocol completed its Private Token Sale, successfully raising 140 million USD, led by Standard Crypto and with participation from major funds such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Electric Capital, Franklin Templeton Investments, Comma3 Ventures, Karatage, Raptor Group, and other investors.

Partners

Walrus has established partnerships with multiple entities in the Web3 ecosystem to deploy blob storage applications:

• Sui Foundation: An entity supporting technical development and promoting the Web3 ecosystem on the Sui blockchain.
• The Defiant: One of the reputable Web3 media platforms, currently integrating Walrus for decentralized content storage solutions.
• Itheum: A Web3 data platform using Walrus to store music copyrights and digital content.
• Super B (game): Using Walrus to store NFT game data and internal assets.
• Plume, 3DOS, and other AI/Web3 partners: Integrating Walrus as a backend for large file storage, serving AI models, CAD designs, or NFT metadata.

Conclusion

Walrus Protocol is one of the most important infrastructures being built on Sui, with the goal of becoming a new standard in decentralized data storage. Its ability to optimize costs, ensure security, and provide high data recovery capabilities makes Walrus an attractive choice for dApps, NFTs, AI, and modern Web3 enterprises.

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.