As a storage solution in the Sui blockchain ecosystem, Walrus ($WAL) has gradually evolved from early concept to practical usable infrastructure over the past year. This decentralized storage and data availability protocol incubated by Mysten Labs is redefining how Web3 handles large file issues.

**Practicality of Technical Architecture**

Unlike simple on-chain storage, Walrus focuses on handling heavyweight files like videos and AI datasets, distributing data slices through erasure coding technology for distributed storage, ensuring extremely high fault tolerance while significantly reducing storage overhead. The ingenuity of this solution lies in—it prevents the mainnet from being burdened by redundant data while maintaining decentralization. a16z listed Walrus as a key project in its 2026 outlook, valuing precisely its potential in data privacy and regulatory compliance.

**New Experiments in Token Economics**

WAL is used for paying storage fees, network staking, and node incentives. The burn mechanism introduced in early 2026 is worth noting—the protocol burns tokens through revenue repurchasing, which remains rare among many current projects. As of mid-January, WAL trading prices hovered around $0.1. Whether this mechanism can truly generate deflationary effects still requires continuous observation of network usage growth.