January 16, 2026 — Global Crypto News — Walrus Protocol, the decentralized data storage and programmable blockchain platform built on the Sui ecosystem, continues to make strategic moves heading into 2026 as it solidifies core infrastructure, supports ecosystem growth, and manages critical technical transitions.
🛠️ New Ecosystem Funding Initiative Launched
The Walrus Foundation has formally launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) program to foster and accelerate development across its ecosystem. The program invites builders, developers, and teams to pitch innovative solutions focused on emerging needs such as storage tooling, integrations, and decentralized application use cases. Successful proposals will receive funding and strategic support aimed at increasing the protocol’s real-world utility. �
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This effort reflects Walrus’s push beyond pure infrastructure toward a broader suite of data-centric Web3 tools and services.
🔗 Network Operational Reminder: Tusky Migration Deadline
In recent community updates, Walrus developers have issued an operational reminder regarding the Tusky interface migration. Users who still rely on Tusky to interact with Walrus are being urged to complete their migration to supported publishers such as ZarkLab, nami_hq, or Pawtato Finance ahead of the January 19, 2026 deadline. Failing to do so could result in interrupted access to stored content and services. �
TradingView
This underscores the importance of continual engagement with platform updates as the decentralized ecosystem evolves.
📈 Ecosystem Advances: Tools and Partnerships
Walrus’s ecosystem has seen expanding technical collaborations over the past year, including:
Real-time analytics and monitoring tools through a partnership with Space and Time, delivering a trustless dashboard for developers to query and track network health and usage in real time. �
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Enhanced user experience integrations with creative Web3 brands such as Claynosaurz, launched during the protocol’s mainnet debut to enrich onchain collectibles and interactive content. �
AInvest
These initiatives reflect Walrus’s dual strategy of strengthening backend functionality and broadening appeal to developers and users.
🎯 Platform Background and Broader Trends
Walrus Protocol first gained attention for its decentralized blob storage model on Sui, aiming to offer scalable, programmable, and censorship-resistant storage for applications ranging from Web3 identity to media content—an alternative to legacy systems like IPFS or traditional cloud providers. �
Walrus
Earlier phases of Walrus’s growth included a $140 million private token sale led by major investors like Standard Crypto and a16z, positioning the project for sustained development and ecosystem expansion. �
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📰 Market & Community Notes
Walrus’s native token WAL has been adopted on major spot venues (including listing on Binance spot and alpha), giving it broader market visibility and trading liquidity. These listings, combined with the ongoing development roadmap, aim to drive network participation and adoption across use cases such as decentralized AI data storage and Web3 identity systems.
