2026-01-20 05:21:14

Entering 2026, the Sui ecosystem is igniting a wave unlike any in previous years. This time, it's not air projects or concept hype that are gaining popularity, but truly foundational infrastructure that is working diligently—Walrus Protocol.

As a native decentralized blob storage protocol on Sui, Walrus's mainnet has been live since March 2025, nearly a year now. The data volume is no longer small-scale—storage capacity has surpassed several petabytes, with over 200 ecosystem projects connected, covering heavyweight applications such as Pudgy Penguins, Humanity Protocol, Talus AI, Myriad prediction markets, and more.

Why has storage protocol become so popular? The technology stack is crucial. RedStuff erasure coding combined with programmable blob objects directly reduces large file storage costs by over 80%, while ensuring data is 100% verifiable, ownable, and monetizable. This is not just marketing talk; it’s real cost optimization.

Recent months have seen more solid progress: Grayscale launched WAL Trust, with institutional funds continuously flowing in; Upbit resumed WAL deposits, instantly boosting liquidity in the Korean market; after Tusky shut down, Walrus smoothly took over data migration (as of March 19), and community trust has just reached a new high. The narrative of privacy storage is especially popular this year, with a16z already stating that privacy will be the biggest moat in crypto by 2026. Walrus’s encrypted sharding with access control is perfectly positioned at the right moment.

The AI + data market is also quite hot. Support for AI agent training datasets, DeFi data verification, and other scenarios, with top players like Chainbase and OpenGradient deeply integrated. From an infrastructure perspective, Walrus is not just storage but more like the underlying hub of the Web3 data ecosystem.

SUI-2.41%

WAL-2.29%

DEFI-4.36%

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rekt_but_not_broke

· 5h ago

walrus this time is really different, connecting 200+ ecosystem projects is no joke --- 80% of costs covered? That's outrageous, depends on whether it can stay stable in the future --- Privacy narrative is hot right now, a16z backing it up makes it stable, just worried it might not be hypeable later --- tusky data migration is actually quite impressive --- grayscale launching wal trust, institutions are really starting to get involved --- Programmable blob objects with erasure coding, this tech stack is indeed interesting --- Korea's liquidity is picking up? Then can the prices stop falling so badly --- AI agent training data has some potential, but it depends on how big the actual demand is --- 200 projects sound impressive, but how many are actually usable is another story --- The privacy moat in 2026 depends on who can truly implement it

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governance_ghost

· 5h ago

Wow, this is really not hype. Walrus is truly getting things done this time. Wait, 200 ecosystem projects? Cost reduced by 80%? Are these numbers serious? Grayscale is here, and institutional involvement is the real signal, unlike some projects that just tell stories every day. A16z is right about the privacy moat; WAL has indeed hit the right timing this time. But can storage protocols really become popular? I'm still a bit skeptical. Tusky data migration was handled quite smoothly; it seems the community truly approves.

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ForkMaster

· 5h ago

Wait, cutting storage costs by 80% directly? This data still depends on the smart contract code, don't just listen to marketing pitches. The education funds for my three kids all rely on this infrastructure, so risk audits are a must.

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ContractFreelancer