Walrus didn’t struggle to get attention. Capital, listings, and campaigns arrived early. That part worked.
What still needs to mature is behavior.
Recent activity shows WAL moving through the classic distribution phase: exchange exposure increases liquidity, incentive programs boost volume, and short-term holders test exits. None of this says much about the protocol itself. It mostly reflects how tokens behave when reach comes before necessity.
The real signal won’t come from price stability. It will come from whether storage demand begins to appear without rewards attached. Paid usage, consistent node participation, and repeat activity are the only metrics that convert visibility into durability.
Until then, Walrus is not failing or winning. It’s being tested by the order it chose to grow.