Walrus protocol: A new breakthrough in the Sui network

Mysten Labs is preparing to launch the Walrus protocol following the Sui network and DeepBook protocol. Despite the presence of many participants in the decentralized storage market, Walrus has attracted wide attention due to its unique advantages:

1. Cost-effectiveness and security: Walrus is more cost-effective and secure than existing storage solutions.

2. Programmability: The stored data can be programmed through the Sui network.

As one of the advanced decentralized storage protocols, the future application value of Walrus is worth looking forward to.

Walrus's Technological Innovations

storage cost efficiency

Walrus uses Red-Stuff encoding, significantly reducing storage costs, achieving efficiency up to 100 times that of Arweave and Filecoin. Compared to the overall data storage of Arweave, Walrus only requires 4-5 times the replication, greatly reducing costs. At the same time, by maintaining low replication costs, Walrus minimizes the probability of data loss.

As the number of nodes increases, each node of Walrus only needs to store a portion of the data, alleviating the burden during network expansion. This structure makes Walrus's storage costs significantly better than those of Arweave and Filecoin.

programmability

The most notable feature of Walrus is its "programmability". Through the Sui network, Walrus achieves programmable decentralized storage, endowing stored data with more functionalities.

For example, the image files of NFTs can be stored in Walrus, and their blob data objects can be created on the Sui network, linking to the NFT objects. This addresses the traditional "incomplete" problem of NFTs, making them true Web3 assets.

Additionally, the blob data of Walrus can be stored as Sui objects and controlled by Move smart contracts. Smart contracts can transfer the stored data to other users or automatically change ownership.

In contrast, Arweave and Filecoin have very limited dynamic integration with on-chain applications. Although Filecoin has added some smart contract capabilities through FVM, the data modification and control capabilities remain limited, and Walrus is clearly superior to both protocols in terms of programmability.

Data Access and Deletion

Unlike existing storage protocols, Walrus allows users to discard or modify data when needed. This feature makes Walrus more suitable for institutions and enterprises that need to store sensitive data or require modification/deletion of data.

It is worth noting that the blob data deleted in Walrus does not affect the transaction data, which remains unchanged, and will not impact the integrity of the blockchain. This feature greatly enhances the application potential of Walrus in traditional enterprises and Web2 companies.

The Synergy Between Walrus and the Sui Network

Walrus has not diverted attention from Sui, but rather has improved the applications on Sui as a storage stack. Walrus not only complements the Sui network from a storage perspective but also actively influences the governance token SUI of the Sui network.

The symbiotic relationship between Sui and Walrus

Mysten Labs focused on storage issues during the early design phase of Sui, proposing a unique storage fund concept. The Sui storage fund divides the fees submitted by users into Gas fees and storage fees, collecting storage fees in advance and continuously allocating these funds to validation nodes.

Walrus achieves programmability of data by storing large-scale blob data and managing its metadata as objects on Sui. Ultimately, Sui and Walrus establish a symbiotic relationship, complementing each other's shortcomings and creating unique advantages.

The impact of Walrus on SUI

When creating blob data objects in Walrus, SUI will be locked in the storage fund based on the size of the object. Although part of the fees can be refunded by deleting data, a portion of the fees will have a destruction effect, permanently reducing the circulation of SUI.

The more Walrus is used, the more SUI locked in the storage fund, creating a virtuous cycle. This gives SUI the potential to become a deflationary asset, increasing its appeal.

Future Prospects of Walrus

Walrus is not only part of the Sui ecosystem but may also become a strong alternative to existing storage protocols and even replace other DA layers. This broad application prospect extends the demand for SUI beyond the Sui network.

The advantages of Walrus include:

1. The operational mechanism is more efficient than existing storage protocols.
2. Can perform tasks that existing storage protocols cannot complete.
3. A solid network and user base has been established through the Sui network.

If Walrus can become the representative storage protocol of Web3 as envisioned by Mysten Labs, it has the potential to become a leader in the storage field.