Walrus (WAL) is the native cryptocurrency token powering the Walrus protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on the Sui blockchain. It aims to provide secure, private, and efficient blockchain-based interactions, particularly focusing on decentralized data storage and transactions. The protocol is designed to facilitate privacy-preserving data storage through a combination of erasure coding and blob storage, distributing large files across a decentralized network. This infrastructure is intended to offer cost-efficient, censorship-resistant storage, serving as an alternative to traditional centralized cloud solutions for various applications, enterprises, and individuals.
Historical Background and Evolution
The Walrus Protocol, developed by Mysten Labs (the team behind the Sui blockchain), was launched in 2024 and was initially available in a testing phase. Walrus was conceived to address the limitations of traditional centralized storage and existing decentralized storage methods, which often face trade-offs between cost, efficiency, and data integrity. Its core innovation, "Red Stuff," is a two-dimensional erasure coding protocol that allows for highly redundant and secure blob storage with efficient data recovery, even with node churn.
In March 2025, Walrus successfully completed a funding round, raising $140 million. The project has also forged partnerships, including with Creditcoin and Spacecoin in December 2024 to launch a DeFi project, and with TradePort in January 2025 to leverage decentralized storage for NFT metadata. In October 2025, Binance announced WAL as the 50th project on the Binance HODLer Airdrops, allocating 32.5 million WAL tokens (0.65% of the total supply) to eligible users.
Current Functionality and Features
The Walrus protocol utilizes the Sui blockchain for coordination, data availability verification, and payment transactions. It stores and manages large data files and rich media content, such as videos, images, and audio, in a distributed manner across a network of independent node operators. Unlike traditional cloud storage, where a single entity controls data, Wal