The storage track has recently become lively. Walrus, backed by Mysten Labs's incubation experience and a $140 million funding round, has entered the arena, with a $2 billion valuation catching many people's attention. However, market discussions often focus on surface-level aspects—how large the funding is, how strong the technical indicators are. Few consider what truly constitutes a project's competitive advantage in storage.

To be honest, storage itself is just a tool. What truly matters is how the project embeds this tool into the entire ecosystem and how it evolves from mere technical iteration to a systemic value reconstruction plan. Walrus's approach is worth dissecting.

## Why does the storage track need a redefinition?

Traditional storage solutions generally face a common problem: severe homogenization of functions. If you do decentralized storage, I do too—everyone is competing on cost and speed. But Walrus clearly does not want to follow this path.

Projects incubated by Mysten Labs inherently carry the Sui ecosystem's DNA. This is no small matter. In the era of modular blockchains, the ability of ecosystems to collaborate has become a dividing line. Walrus is not aiming to be an independent storage tool but wants to become a storage hub within the Sui ecosystem—these are two completely different positioning.

You can feel this difference just by looking at Walrus's technical choices. Their RedStuff technical framework is not designed to achieve the optimal storage but to maximize compatibility with Sui's consensus mechanism. What does this mean? It means that applications running on Sui that use Walrus for data storage will have inherent advantages.

## Where are the ecosystem gaps, and how can projects fill them?

What is the core contradiction of a modular ecosystem? The more specialized a single module is, the better—but the collaboration cost between modules cannot be too high.

What is currently missing in the Sui ecosystem? A storage layer that guarantees data availability and can seamlessly interface with Sui's consensus mechanism. Existing solutions are either too heavy (doing everything themselves) or too lightweight (lacking ecosystem depth).

Walrus's strategy involves four steps:

**Step 1: Technical adaptation.** The design of the RedStuff framework ensures that data storage and Sui's verification mechanism can work closely together. This is not just a technical issue but also an ecosystem positioning issue.

**Step 2: Compliance foundation.** Decentralized storage always faces compliance risks. Walrus invests effort here to give the ecosystem applications peace of mind. Using Walrus for data storage means you don't have to worry about being accused of violating regulations someday.

**Step 3: Scenario targeting.** This is crucial. Walrus doesn't just claim to have storage capacity; it actively seeks AI and RWA applications. Why these two tracks? Because they have hard data storage requirements, complex scenarios, and are prone to dependency.

**Step 4: Ecosystem mutual reinforcement.** Creating positive feedback with other modules in the Sui ecosystem. Sui applications use Walrus, and Walrus's data enriches Sui's application ecosystem. This transforms the relationship from competition to symbiosis.

## Why choose AI + RWA tracks?

There's a logical reasoning worth pondering here.

What do AI applications need? Large amounts of training data, verifiability, and decentralized storage. What do RWA applications need? On-chain and off-chain data consistency, and auditable storage. Both tracks have strong demands for Walrus's capabilities.

Moreover, these two tracks are still in early stages. If Walrus can deepen its storage infrastructure before AI and RWA applications fully explode, it will be difficult for future applications in these tracks to escape Walrus's influence. This is no coincidence; it’s a deliberate ecosystem positioning.

## From tool to standard: ambitions

If you only look at funding scale and valuation, Walrus is just one of many storage projects. But from the perspective of ecosystem evolution, the project team’s vision is clear—they are not content with being a good storage tool but aim to become the industry standard setter.

This process is gradual. The first phase is establishing itself as an ecosystem hub, creating an irreplaceable storage position on Sui. The second phase is to establish industry standards, encouraging applications on other chains to adopt Walrus's technical solutions gradually.

Currently, they are still in the first phase. But if Walrus can truly become a storage hub within the Sui ecosystem and accumulate enough data from AI and RWA applications, its future influence will naturally grow.

## Recognizing the risks

Of course, things are not that simple. What is the biggest risk Walrus faces? Ecosystem lock-in. If Walrus is entirely tied to Sui, then when Sui's ecosystem growth slows down, Walrus will also slow. This is not a technical risk but an ecosystem risk.

Another risk is competition. The storage track is not exclusive to Walrus; other projects are also evolving. If a competitor can achieve better synergy across different ecosystems, Walrus's advantage might be eroded.

There is also an implicit risk: data value. The more data Walrus accumulates, the more these data become assets. How to unlock the value of data without violating user privacy will become a complex issue in the future.

## Bottom-line judgment

The story of Walrus, at its core, is a model of how a modular project can gain competitiveness through deep integration. The $140 million funding and $2 billion valuation reflect not only capital enthusiasm but also the market's renewed recognition of the value of storage infrastructure.

But do not equate funding amount and valuation with project success. The real test is whether Walrus can achieve large-scale applications in AI and RWA tracks within the next two years, rather than just remaining at the conceptual stage.

If it can, Walrus will be more than just a storage project; it will be a vital part of the upward trajectory of the Sui ecosystem. If not, it will be another funded project driven by hype, waiting for the bubble to burst.