Walrus protocol: An innovative storage solution developed by the Sui team

After successfully launching the Sui network and the DeepBook protocol, Mysten Labs is preparing to launch a new storage project - the Walrus protocol. Although there are already many protocols in the decentralized storage market, Walrus has attracted widespread attention due to its unique advantages:

1. Higher cost-effectiveness and security: Walrus adopts innovative coding technology, with storage efficiency several times higher than existing solutions, while greatly reducing the risk of data loss.

2. Programmability: The data stored in Walrus can be programmed via the Sui network, giving the stored data more functionality.

As one of the advanced decentralized storage protocols, the future application prospects and value potential of Walrus are worth paying attention to.

The Uniqueness of Walrus

Compared to existing storage solutions like Filecoin and Arweave, Walrus has significant differences in the following aspects:

storage cost efficiency

Walrus uses Red-Stuff encoding, achieving storage efficiency up to 100 times that of Arweave and Filecoin. It only requires 4-5 times data replication to reduce the probability of data loss to an extremely low level, far below the 500 times replication cost of Arweave's entire network storage.

In addition, as the number of nodes increases, the storage burden of Walrus will actually be eased, while the costs of Arweave will rise. This structural difference makes the storage cost efficiency of Walrus far superior to existing solutions.

programmability

The most notable feature of Walrus is its programmability of data storage through the Sui network. For example:

• During NFT minting, images can be stored in Walrus, and corresponding data objects are created on Sui, addressing the traditional NFT "incomplete" issue.

• Smart contracts can directly control the data stored in Walrus, enabling automated data transfer and ownership changes.

In comparison, Arweave and Filecoin are very limited in their dynamic integration with on-chain applications.

data access and deletion

Unlike existing protocols that offer "one-time upload for permanent storage", Walrus allows users to delete or modify data on demand. This feature greatly enhances Walrus's potential in enterprise applications, especially suitable for organizations that need to store sensitive data.

It is worth noting that only the blob data is deleted in Walrus, which does not affect the immutability of blockchain transactions.

The Synergy between Walrus and the Sui Network

Walrus has not diverted attention from Sui, but rather has improved the Sui ecosystem as a storage component. A close symbiotic relationship has formed between the two.

1. The storage fund mechanism of Sui provides economic incentives and sustainability guarantees for Walrus.

2. Walrus addresses the burden of storing large-scale data on the Sui chain while maintaining the programmability of the data.

3. The use of Walrus has increased the demand for SUI tokens and reduced the circulation through a locking mechanism, which is beneficial for the value of SUI.

The Importance and Potential of Walrus

Walrus is not only an important part of the Sui ecosystem, but it may also become a key infrastructure for the entire Web3 space:

1. Walrus can be used by any third party, not limited to Sui applications, and has the potential to replace existing storage protocols or DA layer solutions.

2. The use of Walrus will create external demand for SUI, expanding the influence of Sui.

3. With its efficiency, programmability, and the existing foundation of the Sui network, Walrus is expected to become a leading protocol in the storage field.

Overall, Walrus represents Mysten Labs' vision of building a complete Web3 infrastructure, which has the potential to reshape the existing Web3 paradigm and become an important force driving the development of the entire industry.