Introduction

Walrus is a decentralized storage and data availability protocol built on the Sui blockchain, designed to store large binary objects—referred to as blobs—across a distributed network. It separates metadata management from blob storage using the blockchain for control logic and relying on a dedicated committee of storage nodes for the underlying data. Walrus encodes files using erasure coding, splitting each blob into slivers distributed across nodes, enabling data recovery even if some nodes are unavailable or malicious. Storage capacity is represented as programmable objects on Sui, allowing contracts to own, split, and transfer storage resources. The protocol uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (dPoS) mechanism, where storage nodes stake WAL tokens to participate and receive rewards based on performance.

What is Walrus (WAL)?

Walrus is a decentralized storage and data availability protocol designed to manage large binary files efficiently, commonly referred to as “blobs.” Built on the Sui blockchain, Walrus enables applications to publish, manage, and program data files such as videos, images, and PDFs. The protocol focuses on providing a reliable and cost-effective solution for storing unstructured content across a distributed network of storage nodes, ensuring data availability and reliability even in the presence of faults or malicious actors.​

The Walrus Foundation, responsible for developing and promoting the Walrus protocol, was established to advance decentralized storage solutions. The foundation’s leadership includes Rebecca Simmonds as the Managing Executive. The project received technical guidance from Mysten Labs, the creators of the Sui blockchain, indicating a collaborative effort between the two organizations.​

In March 2025, the Walrus Foundation announced a $140 million private token sale led by Standard Crypto. Notable investors participated in the funding round, including Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm (a16z crypto), Electric Capital, Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, RW3 Ventures, Creditcoin, Lvna Capital, Protagonist, Karatage, Comma3 Ventures, and The Raptor Group. This substantial investment underscores the confidence in Walrus’s potential to address infrastructure challenges in decentralized data storage.​

The funds raised are intended to accelerate the expansion and maintenance of the Walrus protocol, aiming to transform data storage into an interactive and programmable resource. The mainnet launch of Walrus is scheduled for March 27, 2025, unlocking new possibilities for applications ranging from AI datasets and rich media files to websites and blockchain archives.

Walrus Main Features

Stake WAL

Walrus is a decentralized protocol for enforcing storage availability through cryptographic proofs and economic incentives. The WAL token is used as the unit of account for staking, participation, and reward distribution across the network. Every storage node that participates in storing and serving data must stake WAL tokens. This requirement ensures accountability and enforces economic discipline. Nodes without stake are prohibited from storing slivers or earning rewards.

Each storage node is registered on-chain with a smart contract that records the operator’s identity and associates the node with a validator on the Sui blockchain. The amount of WAL staked by a node influences its eligibility and reward share. Staking is mandatory for activation, and the protocol enforces minimum stake requirements to limit sybil attacks. If a node acts dishonestly or becomes unavailable for an extended period, its staked tokens are subject to slashing. This mechanism reduces the likelihood of poor-quality service and ensures that operators have financial exposure to the reliability of their infrastructure.

The Walrus staking model is structured around a delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS) design. WAL holders who do not operate nodes themselves can delegate tokens to storage nodes. Delegation increases the node’s effective stake and raises its capacity to receive blob assignments. Delegators earn a portion of the rewards distributed to the node, based on their share of the total stake. This allows WAL holders to participate in the protocol without operating infrastructure while contributing to selecting high-performing providers.

Walruscan

Walruscan is the blockchain explorer designed to monitor and verify the operational status of the Walrus storage network. It provides direct access to storage metadata, availability proofs, sliver distribution, staking records, and blob-level policies. The interface connects on-chain data recorded on Sui with off-chain storage actions registered nodes perform. It is structured to support developers, storage providers, and delegators in reviewing protocol activity and economic behavior without requiring access to internal infrastructure or APIs.

The explorer includes functionality to inspect every registered blob stored through Walrus. Each blob is registered on Sui through a metadata object that encodes information such as blob size, replication requirements, current availability, sliver count, and distribution map. Walruscan retrieves this on-chain data and renders it in a visual interface that displays the status of each blob, including how many slivers are online and which storage nodes hold them. This allows users to assess whether a file remains accessible, has reached its redundancy target, or requires reallocation.

Walruscan integrates information about availability proofs submitted by nodes. During each epoch, nodes are periodically challenged to prove that they continue to store their assigned slivers. These proofs are logged on-chain, and Walruscan aggregates them per node and per blob. The explorer tracks whether proofs were submitted, how many challenges were successfully answered, and whether any failures occurred. These logs are used to determine reward eligibility and are made available for third-party auditing. Users can inspect a blob’s proof history or monitor specific storage nodes’ performance.

The explorer also exposes staking and delegation data. For each storage node, Walruscan shows the amount of WAL staked, how much has been delegated by external holders, and how many blobs the node currently supports. It includes historical data on reward distribution and slashing incidents. Delegators can review node reliability before assigning tokens, and operators can use the explorer to track performance metrics across epochs. This transparency allows economic participants to adjust their strategy based on public data, rather than unverifiable claims.

Walrus’ Technical Architecture

Walrus separates the responsibilities of control and storage across two distinct layers: an on-chain metadata and coordination layer built on Sui, and an off-chain storage layer composed of independently operated storage nodes. The control layer uses smart contracts to register blob metadata, enforce access rules, track node registration, and manage staking and slashing. The storage layer is responsible for actually holding the binary content of blobs, which are split into smaller parts and stored redundantly using erasure coding.

When a user uploads a blob to Walrus, the file is segmented into fixed-size chunks. Each chunk is processed with erasure coding to create multiple slivers. A subset of these slivers is sufficient to reconstruct the original chunk. For example, a common configuration would allow recovery from 20 out of 30 slivers. This approach reduces the total storage overhead compared to full replication. The slivers are distributed across nodes registered in the Walrus network, and each node is responsible for storing a defined portion of the blob.

Sliver availability is enforced through challenge-response mechanisms. During each epoch, storage nodes are challenged to produce cryptographic proofs that they still store the slivers assigned to them. Each proof is a compact Merkle-based response that includes a portion of the sliver and authentication data. These proofs are submitted on-chain and verified by smart contracts. The challenge schedule is pseudorandom and ensures that nodes cannot predict which data will be queried in advance, which prevents superficial or fake responses.

The protocol uses a delegated proof-of-stakes model to enforce accountability. Each node must be bonded with WAL tokens to participate in blob storage. Delegators may contribute to the node, increasing its capacity and reward share. The smart contract system on Sui records staking data and calculates reward allocations at the end of each epoch. Nodes that fail to respond to availability challenges or act dishonestly are subject to slashing. The protocol can tolerate up to one-third of node failures, in line with standard Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) assumptions. Nodes that are penalized are excluded from future blob assignments, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the storage network.

All protocol activity is coordinated through smart contracts written in Move, the native language of the Sui blockchain. Contracts manage object ownership, storage allocations, availability verification, node registration, and blob lifecycle policies. When a blob is uploaded, its metadata is registered as an object. This object includes the blob size, erasure parameters, policy settings (e.g., mutability, access control), and links to associated storage nodes. Policies are programmable and define how the blob may be updated, transferred, or deleted.

Walrus vs. Filecoin and Arweave

Walrus introduces a distinct approach to decentralized storage, setting it apart from established protocols like Filecoin and Arweave. The key differentiators lie in storage control, replication strategies, and data programmability.

Storage Control and Replication

• Walrus: Utilizes erasure coding to divide data into multiple slivers, requiring only a subset for data reconstruction. This method achieves high fault tolerance with a replication factor of approximately 4–5x, significantly reducing storage overhead compared to full replication models.
• Filecoin: Employs a market-driven model where users can specify the number of replicas for their data. While this offers flexibility, higher replication for increased reliability leads to higher costs. Lower replication can reduce costs but may compromise data availability.
• Arweave: Implements a blockweave structure that stores data permanently across its network, resulting in high redundancy. This ensures data permanence but incurs substantial storage costs due to extensive replication.

Data Programmability and Management

• Walrus: Offers programmable storage by integrating with the Sui blockchain’s smart contracts. This allows for dynamic data interactions, such as updating or deleting stored content, and facilitates complex applications like dynamic NFTs and real-time data feeds.
• Filecoin: Has introduced the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) to enable smart contract capabilities. However, its programmability is still evolving, and modifying or deleting stored data remains limited.
• Arweave: Focuses on immutable, permanent storage, which means data cannot be altered or deleted once stored. This design is ideal for archival purposes but lacks flexibility for applications requiring data mutability.

What is the (WAL) Token?

WAL Token Utility

WAL is the native utility token of the Walrus protocol and is required for staking, delegation, reward distribution, storage payments, and governance. Storage nodes must stake WAL to register and participate in storing blobs, with bonded tokens subject to slashing if nodes fail to meet availability or verification standards. WAL holders can delegate their tokens to registered nodes and earn a share of rewards based on node performance, though they also share slashing risk. All payments for blob uploads, storage duration, and policy registration are made in WAL, which is then distributed to storage nodes, maintaining the required availability. WAL is also used for on-chain governance, enabling holders to vote on protocol changes such as slashing parameters, reward emission rates, and contract upgrades, with votes weighted by token holdings or delegated amounts.

WAL Supply and Allocation

Community Reserve (43%): Allocated to support the long-term development of the Walrus ecosystem, this portion includes 690 million WAL available at launch, with a linear unlock extending until March 2033. The funds are administered by the Walrus Foundation and directed toward community grants, developer support, research, incentive programs, events, and other ecosystem activities.

Core Contributors (30%): Reserved for individuals and teams responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the Walrus protocol. These tokens are distributed to core developers and contributors and are typically subject to long-term vesting to encourage sustained involvement and discourage short-term profit extraction.

Walrus User Drop (10%): Allocated to distribute WAL tokens to early users and participants of the ecosystem. This distribution is intended to increase user engagement, support early network activity, and encourage adoption by giving tokens to individuals interacting with the protocol during its initial phases.

Subsidies (10%): Dedicated to supporting economic experimentation, early usage, and operational scaling. This includes temporary cost offsets, bootstrapping incentives for new participants, and early infrastructure support across the network.

Investors (7%): Allocated to early backers who provided funding for protocol development and ecosystem launch. These tokens are typically subject to lockups and vesting schedules, aligning investor interests with the long-term performance of the Walrus network.

WAL Vesting Schedule

The WAL token supply is subject to a long-term vesting schedule extending from the March 2025 launch through March 2033. This schedule staggers the release of tokens across all major allocation categories to reduce the immediate circulating supply and align incentives with protocol development and ecosystem growth.

The community reserve, which accounts for 43% of the total supply, follows a linear release model beginning at launch and continuing until March 2033. This slow unlock is intended to support ongoing ecosystem activities such as grants, research, and community programs administered by the Walrus Foundation. The reserve starts with 690 million WAL unlocked at launch, with the remainder released steadily over eight years.

Core contributors receive 30% of the total supply. This category exhibits an accelerated release beginning in 2026, with most tokens vesting between 2026 and 2030. The graph indicates a significant increase in distribution between March 2026 and March 2028, then tapering off as the full allocation nears release by 2031. This back-weighted vesting structure ties contributor compensation to long-term delivery.

Investor tokens, representing 7% of the total supply, are front-loaded compared to other categories. A substantial portion is released within the first two years following launch, with most investor tokens vested by March 2027. This reflects early funding agreements and allows investors to exit gradually without overwhelming market liquidity.

Subsidies, allocated 10% of supply, begin distribution immediately and complete within the early years of the vesting period. Most subsidy tokens are released between 2025 and 2028, reflecting their support for adoption and testing during the protocol’s growth phase. The fast release cycle aligns with early operational needs, such as incentives for node participation and upload cost offsets.

The Walrus user drop category, also comprising 10% of supply, follows a sharp initial release curve. These tokens are made available close to launch and reach full distribution by approximately 2026.

Walrus’s Economic Design

Walrus’s economic design centers around the WAL token, which functions as the unit of payment, staking, delegation, and governance within the protocol. Users pay WAL to store data, with costs calibrated to remain stable in fiat terms through price oracles and adjustments. Storage nodes receive WAL rewards based on their uptime and ability to provide availability proofs, while users can delegate WAL to nodes and share in those rewards. Misbehaving nodes and their delegators are subject to slashing, enforcing economic accountability. Governance decisions—such as adjusting fees, slashing parameters, and system rules—are made by token holders based on their stake weight. A portion of WAL is allocated to early-stage subsidies to encourage adoption, with those incentives decreasing over time as the system matures. All WAL-related operations, including blobs and stake delegation registration, are managed through smart contracts on the Sui blockchain.

Walrus Governance

Walrus governance is structured around a delegated staking model where protocol parameters are governed by WAL token holders, with voting power proportional to staked amounts. Storage nodes, which operate the infrastructure required to maintain data availability, are the primary participants in this governance process. These nodes store slivers and respond to availability challenges and have a direct say in network rules.

Governance covers a range of decisions, including slashing thresholds, penalty rates, reward distribution mechanics, and technical parameter changes. By aligning voting rights with stake weight, the system ensures that those economically exposed to the network’s functioning are also responsible for its direction. Nodes consistently meeting protocol requirements gain credibility and influence, while those failing to meet availability targets risk slashing and loss of governance weight.

Token holders who delegate their WAL to storage providers also participate in this structure, as their tokens contribute to the effective voting power of the delegated node. Since all staked WAL impacts voting outcomes, delegators must choose providers based on reliability and governance alignment.

Conclusion

Walrus introduces a decentralized framework for large-scale data storage that separates metadata management from blob storage using the Sui blockchain in coordination with a distributed network of storage nodes. It applies erasure coding to optimize redundancy and recovery while minimizing unnecessary storage overhead. The protocol enforces data availability through challenge-response mechanisms and economic penalties, with WAL as the unit of account. Storage nodes must stake WAL to participate and earn rewards, while users can delegate tokens and share in the resulting income. Each epoch brings cryptographic verification of sliver availability, ensuring that operators remain accountable and that stored data remains accessible. The technical foundation of Walrus is embedded in programmable Sui smart contracts that manage blob metadata, storage rights, delegation, and enforcement logic without requiring trust in individual operators.