@Walrus 🦭/acc is a decentralized storage protocol designed for an era in which blockchains go far beyond simple token transfers and instead support full-fledged applications, meaningful data, and active user bases. As blockchain technology has evolved, a major limitation has become obvious: blockchains excel at recording small, verifiable pieces of data, but they struggle with storing large files. Content such as images, videos, application resources, AI training data, and user-generated media is still typically hosted on centralized cloud platforms, even when the surrounding application claims to be decentralized. Walrus aims to solve this contradiction by providing a decentralized, dependable, and economically viable way to store large volumes of data while remaining tightly connected to blockchain execution.
At its core, Walrus treats data storage as a native part of onchain activity rather than an external add-on. Instead of forcing developers to rely on separate systems, it enables data to exist as first-class objects that can be referenced, verified, paid for, and governed through smart contracts. This capability is essential for modern Web3 use cases such as blockchain games, decentralized social platforms, digital identity frameworks, and AI-powered applications, all of which depend on persistent, frequently accessed data. Without infrastructure like Walrus, these projects are often forced to sacrifice either decentralization or reliability.
The technical design of Walrus is based on an efficient and resilient storage model. When data is uploaded, it is split into multiple fragments using erasure coding. This method allows the original file to be reconstructed even if some fragments are unavailable. The fragments are then distributed across many independent storage nodes, meaning no single participant holds the entire dataset. As a result, the network can withstand node failures while significantly reducing storage costs compared to simple full replication, all without compromising data availability.
@Walrus 🦭/acc uses the Sui blockchain as its coordination and settlement layer. Sui maintains records of stored data, tracks payments and storage duration, and assigns responsibility to storage nodes. Time is divided into fixed intervals known as epochs. At the beginning of each epoch, a committee of storage providers is selected based on the amount of WAL token stake they hold or have been delegated. These nodes are required to store assigned data and regularly prove that they are doing so.
