The native token acts as the core of this ecosystem. Its functionality is intricately woven into the protocol’s operations:
Storage Payments: Users utilize to secure storage for a specified period, with a system designed to maintain stable costs in fiat to guard against market fluctuations.
Security & Staking: The network's security is upheld through a delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS) model, allowing holders to stake or delegate to validators to earn rewards while ensuring data availability.
Governance: Token holders have a say in important parameters, such as storage pricing and slashing penalties for nodes that misbehave.
2026 Roadmap and Future Outlook
The Q1 2026 roadmap for Walrus is ambitious, concentrating on Mainnet Storage Scaling to improve throughput for AI workloads. With the forthcoming SEAL Access Controls Expansion in Q2, we are witnessing the emergence of genuinely "programmable storage," which enables token-gated content and dynamic data monetization.
For both investors and builders, the incorporation of into various sectors—from Myriad’s prediction markets to AI-agent memory through elizaOS—indicates that Walrus has evolved from a mere project to a foundational layer of the decentralized internet.
