What is the bottleneck for large-scale Web3 applications? It all comes down to scalability issues. Projects like Walrus are addressing this challenge from a often-overlooked perspective—Data Availability (DA).

It is not a direct competitor to Ethereum but a modular blockchain network designed specifically to provide a data storage layer for Ethereum and various L2 solutions. Compared to traditional approaches, Walrus's advantages include lower costs, higher decentralization, and maintained security.

How does this system operate? Through token economics. The $WAL token incentivizes node operators to maintain the network, and participants who contribute computing resources and storage capacity can earn rewards. This not only gives WAL governance capabilities but, more importantly, it becomes a backbone for network security—more nodes and a more active ecosystem lead to a more stable network.

Rollup and L2 ecosystems are currently experiencing rapid growth, and the demand for high-performance DA layers will continue to rise. Walrus happens to be at this critical juncture, addressing the infrastructure needs that multi-chain ecosystems require. If you're tracking the progress of Web3 foundational development, this project is definitely worth your time to learn about.