When I first heard about the Walrus project, my reaction was quite indifferent—"Another storage project." But after actually getting hands-on, my opinion gradually changed. Now, this project has become the most reluctant to sell in my heavy holdings list.

The key is that it truly understands the core value of data in Web3. Usually, we don't feel much about data storage, but when AI applications need to call data or DApps need to store large files, we realize how critical these infrastructures are. Walrus's innovation lies here—turning blobs into programmable assets. Want files to automatically expire? Need to pay to transfer? Want to add encryption control to access? All these needs can be achieved through smart contracts, just a few lines of code.

On the technical level, the combination of erasure coding and the RedStuff mechanism is quite stable. Nodes are deployed in a distributed manner, inherently resistant to censorship and low cost. More interesting is the Walrus Sites feature—hosting decentralized websites directly on-chain, which is the direction Web3 should take.

Looking at the tokenomics design, the multi-purpose use of $WAL is very interesting. Besides traditional governance voting, it also serves as real ecosystem fuel: staking can earn substantial annual yields, users pay for transactions, and protocol governance. I specifically looked into collaborations with projects like Seal, Space and Time, Pyth—privacy access control, real-time data queries, on-chain pricing—all point in the same direction: true data sovereignty rather than just slogans.

The community atmosphere is also good. People rarely discuss pump topics, but often exchange use cases and specific staking yields. The market cap isn't too high yet, and trading volume remains relatively stable. If AI applications really explode in 2026, infrastructure like Walrus will become a key behind-the-scenes support.

As a heavy holder, I now check the staking dashboard every day, feeling that this wait is worth it. Walrus is not a hype story; it’s real infrastructure being built.