Most people underestimate data availability because it is invisible when it works. Execution gets the attention, consensus gets the debate, but availability is what determines whether a blockchain can actually be verified. Walrus Protocol exists because this layer has been treated as an assumption for too long.
Walrus approaches data availability as infrastructure, not a convenience. If transaction data cannot be reliably retrieved, reconstructed, and verified, then execution guarantees collapse silently. Walrus is designed to prevent that failure mode by making availability a protocol-level commitment rather than an optimistic assumption.