Walrus is a decentralized storage and data availability protocol in Web3, built on the Sui blockchain and originally developed by Mysten Labs. Its native token is WAL. Here is a detailed introduction:
Walrus Protocol
- Core Functions: It stores and delivers raw data and media files like videos, images, and PDFs, supporting operations such as blob storage, reading, availability proof, and verification.
- Technical Advantages:
- Resilient: Data remains accessible even if up to two-thirds of nodes fail for reads and one-third for writes.
- Scalable: Performance and capacity expand with more nodes.
- Programmable: Storage space can be tokenized, and smart contracts enable storage marketplaces and rental protocols.
- Cost-effective: Uses the "Red Stuff" erasure-coding algorithm to split data into slivers, reducing replication costs to around 4-5 times the original size, much lower than traditional blockchains.
- Data Flow: Uploaded data is encoded and stored by publishers, with metadata and availability proofs on Sui. Data can be accessed via aggregators through CDNs or read caches, and it is compatible with multiple blockchains like Solana and Ethereum.
$WAL Token
- Total Supply: 5 billion tokens.
- Utility:
- Payment: Used for storage and retrieval fees.
- Staking/Security: Node operators stake WAL to participate, and users can delegate tokens for rewards; poor-performing nodes face penalties.
- Governance: Holders vote on protocol upgrades and changes.
- Market Performance: As of relevant data, the circulating supply is 1.25 billion tokens, with a market cap of about 552 million euros and an all-time high of 0.44 euros per token. It was listed on Binance in October 2025 and had an airdrop for BNB stakers.
Investment Vehicle
Grayscale Walrus Trust allows investors to gain exposure to WAL as a security, tracking its market price minus fees, with a total expense ratio of 2.50% and inception date on June 16, 2025.
