Friends who have been in Web3 for a while, do you have the same feeling: the storage track no longer feels fresh? When it comes to distributed storage, the first images that come to mind are dusty mining rigs or the old routine of permanent backups.

But recently, something has started to shake things up — it's called Walrus, a new generation storage protocol developed with great effort by Mysten Labs, the core team of the Sui ecosystem. It may not sound particularly special, but if we talk about how it plans to "disrupt" the current storage landscape, then it's worth a good discussion.

**The storage needs have long changed**

Honestly, our understanding of storage needs an update. The old approach was simple: store files and don't lose them. But now, the stuff running on-chain is completely different. Short videos, AAA game assets, AI models running 24/7 — these things have long exceeded the scope of "warehouse-style" storage.

Using old solutions to handle these is like trying to stream 4K with a 2G network — the lag is enough to drive anyone crazy.

**"Hot data" storage is the future**

The core innovation of Walrus lies here: it redefines storage as a "high-speed access center," rather than a cold, data warehouse.

Technologically, it adopts an encoding algorithm called Red Stuff. Don’t be fooled by the terminology; simply put, it fragments your files like a puzzle, but access speeds are actually faster. Compared to Filecoin’s inefficient copying and backup schemes, Walrus’s architecture makes data retrieval more responsive and cheaper.

This isn’t a minor tweak; it’s a fundamental shift in thinking.

**Clear differences compared to competitors**

Looking at the two major players today, the differences are obvious. Filecoin follows the traditional "mining + storage" route, but its ecosystem activity has already declined significantly. Arweave, on the other hand, has introduced the concept of permanent storage, but what does "permanent" mean? It implies slow response times, high costs, and unsuitability for high-frequency access scenarios.

Walrus is different. It was designed from the ground up to support high-frequency data interactions on-chain. This positioning sets its ceiling higher.

**Strategic layout of the Sui ecosystem**

Don’t underestimate Walrus’s background originating from Sui. As a high-performance public chain, storage has always been a weak point in Sui’s overall ecosystem planning. Now, Mysten Labs is directly stepping in to fill this gap — what does that tell us? It shows they have a clear long-term view of ecosystem development.

Walrus isn’t an isolated project; it’s a key part of the integrity of the Sui ecosystem. As more on-chain applications require efficient storage support, Walrus’s value will gradually become evident.

**Highlights for 2026**

Currently, the entire Web3 is still on the eve of explosive growth, but this year, you will clearly feel the increasing demand for storage. Games, social media, AI applications — these storage-intensive sectors are going on-chain at an unexpectedly fast pace.

By 2026, the landscape of the storage track might be completely transformed. When that time comes, looking at Walrus, it might no longer be just a "dark horse," but a "necessary infrastructure."

So instead of waiting to see how others develop, it’s better to understand what’s happening in this ecosystem now. This isn’t just a story about a storage project; it’s a judgment on the evolution direction of Web3 infrastructure.