Josh Tongue

I want to speak about Walrus in a more personal way — not like a product release or a technical explainer, but as something that’s been on my mind.

So much of our lives now exists online. Our work, our ideas, our chats, our memories — all of it lives somewhere on the internet. Yet most of us don’t actually control where any of it is stored. It sits on platforms owned by companies we don’t know, operating under rules that can change at any time. One shutdown, one policy change, one server issue — and years of digital life can vanish without warning. It’s a risk people rarely think about, but it’s always there.

That’s why Walrus started to click for me.

Walrus isn’t trying to be flashy. It isn’t built around loud marketing or big promises. At its core, it’s focused on something very simple and very important: making data strong enough to survive. Instead of depending on a single service or provider, it spreads data across a network so there’s no single point that can break, censor, or quietly alter it. Your information doesn’t depend on one company staying in business or making fair choices.

What makes this powerful is how real it feels. Walrus isn’t designed for some far-off future — it’s built for how people use the internet right now. Things like NFT files that shouldn’t disappear when hosting expires. AI datasets that need to stay intact over time. Websites that shouldn’t go dark just because a platform changes direction. Digital archives meant to preserve, not risk losing everything.
When you step back, it feels like this kind of system should have existed a long time ago.
We usually think progress means going faster — faster apps, faster payments, faster everything. Walrus seems to care more about what lasts. About building something that will still be there years from now, long after trends and companies have faded. That kind of long-term thinking is rare in tech.

I also like how Walrus doesn’t try to be in your face. The best infrastructure is invisible when it works. You don’t think about electricity or clean water until they’re gone. Walrus aims for that same quiet reliability — always there, always holding data safely, without forcing people to think about the complexity underneath.

To me, Walrus reflects a different vision of the internet. One where permanence matters. Where creators, builders, and communities don’t have to worry about their work disappearing because of someone else’s decision. It’s less about speculation and more about reliability. Less noise, more trust.

I’m sharing this not because Walrus sounds good on paper, but because it feels genuinely useful. If we want a stronger, more dependable internet, it has to start with solid foundations — and Walrus Protocol feels like one of those foundations being built quietly, carefully, and with intention.

@Walrus 🦭/acc #walrus $WAL

A lot of crypto projects claim they want to reshape the world, but very few create tools that real financial institutions could actually use. Dusk is different. It isn’t focused on chasing attention — it’s focused on building something that fits how global finance really works.

One of the biggest obstacles to blockchain adoption in finance has always been confidentiality. Banks and institutions can’t operate on networks where every balance and transaction is exposed to the public. At the same time, they can’t work with systems that ignore regulatory requirements. Dusk was built right in the middle of those two needs.

The network is designed for regulated financial environments. It allows transactions to stay private while still making it possible to prove compliance when required. That balance is what separates Dusk from most blockchains. Instead of forcing a choice between privacy and oversight, it supports both — which is why it’s often seen as infrastructure for institutions rather than retail users.

One of the strongest signals behind Dusk is its involvement in traditional markets. The project holds equity in NPEX, a regulated stock exchange in the Netherlands. This isn’t just branding — it’s direct exposure to real-world trading and settlement. The goal is to move assets like equities, bonds, and other securities onto blockchain rails without sacrificing confidentiality.

Settlement speed is another major focus. In today’s financial system, clearing and settlement can take several days. With blockchain technology, that delay can be cut down to near-instant finality. Dusk aims to provide that efficiency while keeping sensitive financial information shielded from the public.

Privacy on Dusk is powered by zero-knowledge technology, allowing smart contracts to operate without revealing private data. For things like institutional lending, on-chain securities, and regulated DeFi, this isn’t a luxury — it’s a requirement. Open, fully transparent contracts simply don’t meet these standards.

What really sets Dusk apart is its long-term mindset. It isn’t designed for quick hype cycles. It’s being built for a future where regulation is tighter and financial institutions demand serious, compliant infrastructure. When that shift becomes unavoidable, many networks will need to adapt — Dusk is already there.

While much of the market is focused on noise, Dusk is focused on credibility. And in finance, credibility always outlasts hype.
@Dusk #dusk $DUSK

Ethereum’s growth came with a price. As more users joined, the network started facing traffic jams, rising fees, and slower transactions. Before rollups and today’s scaling frameworks even existed, Plasma was already exploring a way forward. It didn’t stay in the spotlight forever, but it helped define how Ethereum learned to scale.

Plasma introduced a new way to think about blockchain activity. Instead of forcing every single transaction to happen directly on Ethereum, most of the work could take place on secondary chains. These chains would handle day-to-day activity and only send proofs back to Ethereum for verification. This kept the main network lighter while still keeping its security intact.

The beauty of this design was in its balance. Users could trade, send, and interact on Plasma chains at much lower cost and with faster speed, while Ethereum remained the final authority. If anything went wrong, Ethereum was always there to settle disputes and protect user funds.

A key part of Plasma was its escape hatch. Anyone who suspected wrongdoing could prove it on Ethereum and withdraw their assets safely. This meant users never had to blindly trust the operators running the Plasma chains. Even in the worst-case scenario, Ethereum’s consensus acted as the ultimate safety net.

Plasma also pushed forward an important economic idea. Operators were motivated to play fair because cheating could be challenged and punished on-chain. Users, meanwhile, had incentives to keep an eye on the system or rely on monitoring services. This combination of cryptography and incentives became a blueprint for later scaling solutions.

Of course, Plasma wasn’t perfect. Leaving a Plasma chain could be slow, and handling large exits at once was tricky. It also struggled to support advanced smart contracts smoothly. These weaknesses led to newer models like optimistic and zero-knowledge rollups, which refined Plasma’s original vision into something more user-friendly.

But Plasma was never a dead end. It was a stepping stone. Many of the ideas powering today’s Layer 2 networks trace directly back to Plasma — off-chain execution, challenge systems, and Ethereum acting as the final settlement layer all started here.

More than a product, Plasma was a shift in mindset. It showed that Ethereum didn’t have to do everything itself to stay secure. By spreading work across layers, the network could grow without sacrificing decentralization — a principle that still guides Ethereum today.

For anyone serious about blockchain infrastructure, Plasma matters. It explains why Ethereum’s scaling path looks the way it does and why Layer 2 networks are now a necessity, not a luxury. Price action changes daily, but systems evolve through long-term experimentation.

Plasma may belong to Ethereum’s early chapters, but its impact is lasting. It proved that scaling without giving up trust was possible — and it helped shape the layered future we’re now building toward.

@Plasma #Plasma $XPL

Most blockchains were designed for trading tokens and running apps, not for handling everyday money. They can be slow, expensive, and confusing for regular users. Plasma was created with a different goal: to make blockchain technology work smoothly for real payments, especially stablecoins.

Plasma is focused on being a fast and efficient settlement layer for digital dollars and other stable assets. Instead of treating stablecoins as just another token, the network is built around them. This allows transfers to feel closer to sending money through a modern payment app rather than using a complicated crypto wallet.
One of Plasma’s biggest strengths is its compatibility with Ethereum. Developers can use the same tools and smart contracts they already know, but run them in an environment that is optimized for payments. This means apps can be launched quickly without sacrificing performance or security.
For users, Plasma aims to remove the usual friction. Transactions are near-instant, and in many cases fees can be hidden or covered by the application itself. This creates an experience that feels almost gasless, making it easier for people who are new to crypto to start using stablecoins without worrying about technical details.

Plasma also pays close attention to reliability. Payments only make sense if they settle correctly every time. The network is designed to process large volumes of transfers while keeping costs low and confirmation times short. This makes it suitable for merchants, remittance services, and financial platforms that need speed and predictability.
As stablecoins become more common in global trade and digital commerce, the infrastructure behind them becomes just as important as the coins themselves. Plasma is positioning itself as that underlying layer — the place where value moves smoothly, securely, and at scale.

Rather than chasing trends, Plasma is solving a practical problem: how to make digital money actually usable in everyday life. If stablecoins are going to power the future of payments, Plasma wants to be the network that carries them.
@Plasma #Plasma $XPL

Most people think they own their data, but in reality it lives on servers controlled by a few large companies. You upload files, documents, videos, or app data, and you are trusting a third party to store it, protect it, and not change the rules. Walrus Protocol was created to challenge this model by giving users and applications real ownership over their data.
Walrus is a decentralized data storage network built on Sui. Instead of placing files on a single server or company’s cloud, Walrus breaks large data into pieces and spreads them across many independent nodes. This design makes the system far more resilient. If one part of the network goes offline, the data can still be recovered from other nodes. There is no single point of failure and no central authority that controls access.
What makes Walrus different from traditional storage is that it treats data as a shared public resource that is secured by cryptography and economic incentives. Storage providers are rewarded for keeping data available, while users and applications pay for the space they consume. Everything is handled on-chain, so there is no need to trust a company behind the scenes.
The WAL token is what keeps this system running. It is used to pay for storage, reward node operators, and support the governance of the protocol. People who provide storage stake WAL, which gives them a reason to act honestly and maintain high availability. If they fail to do so, they risk losing their stake. This creates a strong alignment between the network and those who run it.

Walrus is especially important for Web3 applications that need to store large amounts of data, such as NFTs, games, media platforms, and decentralized social networks. Blockchains themselves are not designed to hold heavy files, but they still need reliable access to them. Walrus fills this gap by acting as the data layer that blockchains can depend on.
By building on Sui, Walrus benefits from fast transactions and low fees, making it practical for real-world usage. Developers can integrate Walrus into their apps to store user content, metadata, or application files in a way that is both decentralized and efficient.

Walrus Protocol is not just another storage network. It is part of a broader shift in how the internet works. Instead of renting space from big tech companies, users and builders can now rely on a neutral, permissionless system where data is protected by code and community rather than corporations. In a future where digital ownership matters more than ever, Walrus is laying down the foundation.
@Walrus 🦭/acc #walrus $WAL

Most blockchains were created for open, permissionless activity where everything is visible. That works well for trading tokens and NFTs, but it creates a serious problem when real financial institutions try to move on-chain. Banks, brokers, and regulated firms cannot expose customer data, transaction details, or internal logic on a public ledger. This is the gap Dusk Network is built to fill.
Dusk is a blockchain designed for financial use cases that require privacy, compliance, and transparency to exist at the same time. Instead of forcing companies to choose between secrecy and trust, Dusk allows both. Transactions can be verified on-chain while sensitive details remain hidden. This means institutions can use blockchain technology without breaking regulatory rules or risking data leaks.
At the heart of Dusk is its privacy-focused smart contract system. These contracts allow parties to interact, trade, and settle assets while keeping the underlying information confidential. Ownership, balances, and transaction conditions can be proven correct without being publicly revealed. This makes Dusk especially suitable for tokenized securities, bonds, and other real-world financial instruments.

Another key part of Dusk’s design is compliance. Many privacy blockchains avoid regulation completely, but Dusk takes a different route. It allows selective disclosure, meaning a company can keep data private on the blockchain but still share it with auditors or regulators when required. This makes it much easier for licensed financial institutions to operate legally on-chain.
Dusk also focuses on settlement — the actual movement of value when a trade is completed. In traditional finance, this process can take days and involves many intermediaries. On Dusk, settlement happens directly on the blockchain, reducing cost, risk, and delays. When combined with privacy and compliance, this creates a strong foundation for serious financial activity.
The DUSK token plays a central role in the network. It is used for transaction fees, staking, and securing the blockchain. Validators who stake DUSK help keep the network honest and stable, and in return they earn rewards. This creates an incentive system that aligns long-term network security with token holders.
What makes Dusk stand out is that it is not chasing hype. It is not trying to be another general-purpose chain for memes or quick speculation. It is being built for a specific and growing demand: regulated financial markets moving onto blockchain rails. As more real-world assets become tokenized, the need for privacy-preserving, compliant infrastructure will only increase.
Dusk is positioning itself as the layer where traditional finance and decentralized technology can finally meet without compromise. It may not be loud, but it is laying the groundwork for a future where serious money can move on-chain safely, privately, and efficiently.
@Dusk #dusk $DUSK

Most blockchains are transparent by design. While this works for public payments, it creates serious problems for businesses, institutions, and regulated financial products. No company wants its balances, trades, or client data visible on a public ledger. This is the gap Dusk Network is focused on solving.

Dusk is a blockchain built specifically for privacy-preserving financial applications. Instead of hiding everything or exposing everything, it allows transactions and smart contracts to be verified without revealing sensitive information. This makes it possible to bring real-world assets, regulated securities, and institutional finance onto the blockchain without breaking compliance or privacy.

At the core of Dusk is zero-knowledge cryptography. This technology allows users to prove that something is true without showing the underlying data. On Dusk, this means a transaction can be confirmed as valid while keeping amounts, identities, and business logic private. This creates a system that works for both public blockchains and regulated financial markets.

One of Dusk’s biggest use cases is tokenized securities. Stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments require confidentiality, identity checks, and regulatory rules. Dusk allows these assets to exist on-chain while still following legal frameworks. This makes it attractive to institutions that want the efficiency of blockchain without sacrificing privacy or compliance.

The DUSK token plays a key role in the network. It is used to pay for transactions, run validator nodes, and secure the blockchain through staking. As more applications and financial products are built on Dusk, demand for DUSK increases because it powers every interaction on the network.

Dusk is not trying to be another general-purpose blockchain. It is positioning itself as the financial privacy layer of Web3. While many chains focus on DeFi for retail users, Dusk is building infrastructure that can support banks, funds, and regulated markets.

As tokenization and digital securities continue to grow, blockchains that can handle privacy and compliance will become more valuable. Dusk is designed for exactly that future — where finance moves on-chain, but sensitive information stays protected.
@Dusk $DUSK
#dusk

Most blockchains were built for speculation first and real-world usage second. Plasma flips that idea around. Instead of trying to be everything for everyone, Plasma focuses on one thing that crypto has always struggled with: making digital money actually usable for everyday payments.

Plasma is a blockchain built around stablecoins. While many networks treat stablecoins like just another token, Plasma designs the entire system around them. This means sending dollars, euros, or other stable assets feels instant, cheap, and simple — closer to using a payments app than a traditional crypto wallet.

The network is fully EVM compatible, so developers can deploy smart contracts, DeFi apps, and wallets just like they do on Ethereum. But under the surface, Plasma optimizes everything for high-speed settlement and extremely low transaction costs. This makes it practical for things like remittances, online payments, subscriptions, and merchant transactions.

One of Plasma’s most important features is its gasless-style experience for basic transfers. Users can send stablecoins without worrying about complex gas fees or volatile native tokens. That removes one of the biggest barriers stopping normal people from using crypto as money.

For businesses, this is a major upgrade. Merchants don’t want price volatility, failed transactions, or confusing wallet steps. Plasma allows them to receive stablecoins in seconds, with predictable costs and instant finality. That makes crypto feel less like an experiment and more like real financial infrastructure.

Plasma also fits naturally into the broader Web3 ecosystem. It can connect with DeFi protocols, on-chain identity, NFT platforms, and data networks like Walrus. While Walrus provides decentralized data storage, Plasma provides the financial layer that moves value across applications. Together, they create a foundation where apps can handle both money and data without relying on centralized services.

As global demand for stablecoin payments keeps growing, networks that are built specifically for this use case will matter more than general-purpose chains. Plasma is positioning itself not as another speculative blockchain, but as the rails for everyday digital commerce.

Instead of trying to chase hype cycles, Plasma is solving a real problem: how to move stable money quickly, cheaply, and reliably across the internet. If crypto is going to be used by billions, infrastructure like Plasma will be the backbone that makes it possible.

@Plasma #Plasma $XPL

In most of today’s internet, data is controlled by a few large companies. Even in Web3, many decentralized apps still depend on centralized cloud servers to store images, videos, NFT files, and application data. This creates a silent weakness because if those servers go offline, change rules, or remove content, the “decentralized” app breaks. Walrus Protocol was designed to remove that dependency by giving Web3 its own decentralized data layer.

Walrus is built on the Sui blockchain and focuses on storing and serving large files in a distributed way. Instead of keeping everything in one place, Walrus spreads data across many independent nodes around the world. If one part of the network fails, the rest can still reconstruct the information. This makes data more durable, censorship-resistant, and reliable for long-term use.

What makes Walrus powerful is not just storage, but data availability. Applications need to be sure that the information they rely on will always be accessible. Walrus constantly checks that storage providers are actually holding the data they claim to store. This creates trust without needing a central authority, which is critical for DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and on-chain applications that cannot afford broken links or missing files.

The WAL token connects the entire system together. Users pay in WAL to store data, while node operators earn WAL for providing disk space and keeping files available. WAL also gives the community the ability to participate in governance, meaning the future of the network is shaped by those who use and support it. As more applications rely on Walrus for data, the demand for WAL grows naturally with network usage.

Walrus is especially valuable for projects that handle large or important files. NFT platforms can store artwork and metadata without trusting centralized servers. Games can keep assets and world data on a network that never goes down. DeFi protocols and AI platforms can rely on a neutral, verifiable data layer instead of private infrastructure.

By running on Sui, Walrus benefits from fast transactions and low fees, which makes it practical for real-world scale. This combination of high performance and decentralized storage creates an environment where Web3 apps can finally operate without hidden central points of failure.

Walrus is not just another storage project. It represents a shift in how data is owned and accessed in crypto. Instead of renting space from corporations, users and builders can rely on a network that belongs to its participants. As Web3 grows, having a decentralized foundation for data will be just as important as having decentralized money, and Walrus is positioning itself at the center of that future.

@Walrus 🦭/acc #walrus $WAL

Most blockchains were designed around transparency first. Every transaction, balance, and interaction is visible by default. While this openness is useful for public verification, it becomes a problem when real businesses and regulated institutions are involved. Financial systems require privacy, but not secrecy — a distinction many crypto networks fail to address.

Dusk Network is built around that exact gap.

Instead of forcing users to choose between full exposure and complete opacity, Dusk introduces selective confidentiality. Transactions can remain private where needed, while still allowing verification, auditing, and compliance. This makes it possible for institutions to use blockchain technology without violating regulatory requirements or revealing sensitive information.

At the protocol level, Dusk is focused on supporting financial use cases rather than speculative activity. It is designed for applications like tokenized securities, confidential transfers, and on-chain settlement for regulated markets. These are areas where privacy isn’t optional — it’s mandatory. Dusk treats this requirement as a core feature, not an add-on.

One of the key strengths of Dusk is that privacy does not come at the cost of trust. The network uses cryptographic techniques that allow transactions to be validated without exposing underlying data. This enables participants to prove correctness while keeping details hidden, a balance that traditional blockchains struggle to achieve.

The DUSK token plays a functional role in securing the network and enabling participation. It is used for staking, governance, and transaction fees, aligning incentives between validators, developers, and users. As more regulated applications move on-chain, the demand for networks that can handle confidential activity increases.

What makes Dusk stand out is its positioning. It is not competing to be the fastest or the loudest chain. It is building infrastructure for markets that already exist and already move trillions in value. By focusing on compliance-ready privacy, Dusk aims to become a settlement layer institutions can actually use.

As blockchain adoption matures, the narrative shifts from experimentation to integration. Networks that can operate within real-world constraints will matter more than those built only for open speculation. Dusk is aligning itself with that future — where privacy, transparency, and regulation can coexist on-chain.

In a space driven by trends, Dusk is focused on permanence. And infrastructure designed for regulated finance tends to outlast hype.
@Dusk #dusk $DUSK

Most people don’t really think about where their data lives. Photos, documents, app files, and even on-chain records are usually stored somewhere far away, controlled by companies we never interact with directly. We pay for access, we accept their rules, and we hope the service stays online. That model has worked, but it also means we never truly own the data that defines our digital lives.

Walrus Protocol was created to challenge that assumption.
Instead of putting large files into centralized servers or a single cloud provider, Walrus spreads them across a decentralized network built on Sui. This approach changes how data behaves. Files are broken up, stored in many places, and can be reconstructed even if some parts go offline. It’s not just about redundancy — it’s about removing the idea that one company or one server should control access.
What makes this important is scale. Blockchains are good at handling transactions, but they struggle with large amounts of data. Storing videos, application files, datasets, or game assets directly on a chain is expensive and inefficient. Walrus exists to handle that heavy data layer while still staying connected to the crypto economy.

In this system, people who provide storage capacity are rewarded for keeping data available. At the same time, users and applications don’t need to trust a single provider. The network itself ensures that files remain retrievable. This creates a balance where infrastructure is powered by incentives instead of corporate control.

The WAL token sits at the center of this design. It is used to pay for storage, to reward those who run the network, and to participate in how the protocol evolves. Rather than being a speculative add-on, the token is tied directly to how much data the system is holding and how active the network is.

That connection between usage and value is what gives Walrus its long-term relevance. If more applications, games, and platforms start relying on decentralized storage, the protocol grows naturally with them. The more data people want to store, the more important the network becomes.

What’s interesting about Walrus is that it doesn’t try to be flashy. It doesn’t promise to replace social media or reinvent finance. It focuses on something more fundamental: where digital information is kept, and who controls it. That layer rarely gets attention, but everything else depends on it.

As blockchains move toward real-world use — from gaming to decentralized apps to digital identity — the need for reliable, censorship-resistant storage will only increase. Walrus is positioning itself right in the middle of that shift, building a base layer for data that feels more like ownership than a subscription.

In a market full of narratives, Walrus feels more like infrastructure. And infrastructure is usually what lasts.

@Walrus 🦭/acc #walrus $WAL