Su Shi has a famous poem: "Not knowing the true face of Mount Lu, only because I am in the mountain." At first glance, this seems to be about scenery, but it actually points to a deeper issue—limited perspective makes it impossible to see the full picture.

The current state of Web3 storage is no different. We are accustomed to the convenience of centralized cloud services, but never consider what this comfort zone is swallowing. Private data exposed on servers incurs exorbitant costs; a single failure or censorship can make AI training sets, creative archives, and on-chain assets vanish into thin air. Countless users and developers are trapped in this "mountain," wandering and asking: how can we truly break free, ensuring data persists forever and is properly protected?

This is the problem the Walrus protocol aims to solve. Built on Sui’s efficient network, it employs Red Stuff erasure coding technology to implement a clever solution: extremely low redundancy allows data to self-repair while supporting globally distributed storage. In other words, data is no longer concentrated in one place; a failure of any single node cannot affect the entire system—just like viewing scenery from different angles after climbing a mountain, no one can alter the truth you see.

The Seal privacy layer is another line of defense, tightly protecting sensitive boundaries. Meanwhile, Blob programmable storage is even more interesting—it makes data not just static files but dynamic assets that can interact with smart contracts. When uploading data, the binding with the chain is already completed; retrieval can directly access the real-time state, making innovative applications obvious.

By 2026, Walrus will have become a vital infrastructure in the Sui ecosystem. Data flow in DeFi, permanent archiving of media content, privacy sharing of scientific research data—all these needs, originally scattered across different fields, will find solutions.

Holders of WAL participate in network maintenance through staking, and jointly decide the ecosystem’s direction via governance voting. Most importantly, they can directly share the commercial value of the protocol. Every storage demand translates into tangible returns; the more data expanded, the larger the protocol’s revenue cake—this is the true picture of decentralized finance, isn’t it?

Centralization will inevitably face limitations; only decentralization can reveal the true face. If you’re tired of groping through the fog, perhaps it’s time to seriously consider the path of Walrus’s emergence from the mountain.