WAL as the ecological cornerstone of the Walrus protocol bears the entire network's security, participation incentives, and democratic governance. This is not just a payment tool but more like a value anchor connecting all participants, aiming for a truly permissionless, stable, and sustainable distributed storage economy.

How to pay for storage? Users pay storage fees in advance with WAL, and this money is then linearly distributed to operating nodes and stakers over time. This clever design isolates the impact of price volatility, keeping storage costs stable and predictable, while providing continuous revenue guarantees for nodes, ensuring long-term secure data storage.

What supports network security? The answer is the Delegated Proof of Stake mechanism. Nodes participate in storage services by staking WAL. If they perform poorly or attempt malicious acts, they face penalties and token destruction. This cost constraint is exceptionally strong. Token holders also hold governance rights, voting on how key parameters are adjusted, allowing the community to truly participate in protocol evolution.

How are tokens distributed? The total supply is 5 billion tokens, with over 60% allocated to ecosystem development, user airdrops, and early support. Among them, 43% of community reserves are linearly released until 2033 to support developer funds, hackathon competitions, and research projects, demonstrating strong long-term commitment.

The ecosystem is rapidly absorbing value. From privacy AI data storage to cross-chain asset custody, more and more projects are choosing Walrus as their data layer. In the future, mechanisms like read incentives and dynamic pricing will be introduced to create a positive feedback loop between WAL and network activity.