Walrus secures its decentralized storage network through a carefully designed staking and governance system built around the WAL token. This model aligns incentives between storage nodes, delegators, and the overall health of the protocol.
At the core of Walrus staking is delegation. Users can stake WAL tokens either by running storage nodes themselves or by delegating their stake to existing nodes. Nodes compete to attract stake based on reputation, performance history, self-funded capital, and commission rates. The amount of delegated stake directly determines how many shards a node is assigned during each epoch, tying responsibility and reward to economic commitment.
Unstaking follows a structured process. When users request to withdraw stake, their tokens stop influencing shard assignment after the epoch cutoff, but they remain temporarily locked. This ensures that nodes cannot escape accountability during shard migration or recovery. If failures occur, the departing stake can still be slashed before release, preserving network security.
.Rewards and penalties are distributed at the end of each epoch. Nodes that reliably store data, respond to challenges, and assist in shard recovery earn rewards, which are shared proportionally with delegators. Nodes that fail these duties are penalized. Importantly, Walrus treats all stake equally, keeping the system simple while leaving room for future enhancements.
Walrus also uses self-custodied staking objects, allowing users to retain control of their assets while still enforcing penalties at withdrawal. This balance of flexibility and accountability makes staking a foundational pillar of Walrus’s scalable and secure storage network.
