While everyone in the crypto world argues about the latest memecoins or fast blockchains, something important is happening in Web3: Mysten Labs, the people behind Sui, have created Walrus (WAL). This decentralized storage system might become the standard for new decentralized apps.
Around mid-January 2026, WAL was priced steadily between $0.14 and $0.15, which shows it's holding up well. But more than just the price, Walrus is now seen as essential infrastructure, not just tech with potential, especially after what happened this week.
The Tusky Migration: A Good Test
The big news is that the data migration from Tusky went well. Users had until January 19 to move their files to Walrus storage, since Tusky is ending. Normally, when a major service shuts down, it causes data loss or panic. But Walrus clearly explained why it exists. Just because Tusky is gone doesn't mean the data is. The data is on the blockchain and can be accessed in other ways. Walrus did a great job in this real-world test of censorship resistance and permanence.
How It Works: The Red Stuff Advantage
Why are developers choosing Walrus over Filecoin and Arweave? It's because of something called Red Stuff. This is Walrus' unique way of splitting up and storing data. Filecoin uses a complicated and slow Proof of Replication. Arweave makes you pay for storage forever, which isn't ideal for short-term data. Walrus uses Red Stuff to break files into slivers and spread them across different computers. It only needs 4.5x replication to be very secure (other systems use 10-30x). Basically, Walrus is cheaper and more affordable for demanding applications like streaming video or training AI models.
Institutional Interest
When Grayscale mentioned WAL as something they're considering, people started to see it differently. It means that big investors view Walrus as a serious competitor in the storage space, which sets it apart from many other less real tokens. Also, the WAL/KRW markets now have good liquidity because Upbit, a large exchange in South Korea, started allowing Sui Network deposits again on January 15. The Kimchi Premium is often a sign of things to come for alternative cryptocurrencies, so this stability is a good sign for early 2026.
AI and Walrus
Looking ahead, AI could be a big boost for WAL, not just file storage. The Sui Foundation presented the Verifiable AI Stack on January 13. Walrus is a key part of this. AI needs lots of verifiable and cheap data (training data, weights, and logs). Walrus allows AI to use WAL tokens to pay for its own storage space. As the Agent Economy grows in 2026, Walrus is becoming the go-to hard drive for AI.
In Conclusion
Even though it has a faster blockchain and newer tech, Walrus is worth less than Filecoin (FIL). If Next-Gen Storage takes over from Legacy Storage (FIL/AR), then WAL is undervalued. Now that the Tusky migration went smoothly and Upbit is providing liquidity, Walrus seems likely to increase in value.
