Sui is on fire. It is one of the biggest gainers in the last 12 months, up over 40%. Its ecosystem is growing fast too. Mysten Labs, the creators of Sui, is now launching another project within Sui’s ecosystem. It’s the biggest launch to date on Sui, and one of the biggest launches in all of crypto.
But there are huge implications outside the community too. If we want to keep AI decentralized in any way, then we need secure, decentralization solutions for storing very large files like AI models. And that’s exactly what Mysten Labs’ more recent project Walrus does. The $WAL token is launching today, and you have your chance to join this great community.
Walrus Mainnet and TGE
We’ve been talking about Walrus a lot lately. I know. It’s one of Sui’s leading ecosystem projects. And its unique way of managing large forms of data, known as blobs, really makes Walrus stand out.
It means Walrus is better equipped for storing very large files like AI LLMs or private data sets. Companies don’t want these leaked publicly. But they do want to use their data for testing, analysis, and modeling.
Happy blobday to those that celebrate. We bring exciting news!
Walrus Mainnet will be live on March 27
Walrus Tokenomics unveiled
$140M secured in funding to make data truly programmable
— Walrus
/acc (@WalrusProtocol) March 20, 2025
Any AI or machine learning company can use Walrus. If they want to add a decentralized element or prevent centralization and the abuse of their data. Walrus stores data privately, securely, and in a decentralized way. Filecoin can’t do this. Yet it’s a $2 billion project…..
People learned their lesson after letting their personal and business data go free to social media platforms. Businesses, in particular, don’t want to make this mistake again.
After a successful testnet, the mainnet and TGE or token generation event for the Walrus token will take place on March 27th. So yes, that’s sometime today.
There are a few early successes for Sui ecosystem projects. There are Deepbook, Cetus, and others. Walrus is probably the most highly anticipated launch in the ecosystem since the Sui token itself went live.
And you can see, it’s not just Sui lovers that benefit. Anyone wanting to keep AI decentralized benefits, too.
Big New Fundraise
Although we covered this in an article on our great website earlier this week at altcoinbuzz.io, it’s worth talking about again. The Walrus Foundation just raised $140 million in uncertain, tough market conditions.
TradFi investors like Franklin Templeton Investments join
- a16z crypto
- Electric Capital
- and other crypto-native VCs in this round of funding.
Big news in decentralized storage!
Walrus Foundation has secured $140,000,000 in fundraising, led by @standardcrypto, to scale programmable storage built on @SuiNetwork.
Storage isn’t just storage anymore – it’s dynamic, verifiable, and programmable. AI datasets, blockchain… pic.twitter.com/aNPZ4FRo6h
— Walrus
/acc (@WalrusProtocol) March 20, 2025
It’s no surprise that VCs and professional investors are willing to bet on Mysten Labs a 2nd time. Especially after the success we see with Sui. And yet they only own 7% of all tokens, leaving most of it for the rest of us.
Mysten Labs is also the founding team of Walrus. So that alone inspires lots of confidence. Still, it is a pleasant surprise they could raise so much money. And from a strategic group of investors in these strange market conditions out there now.
It also gives us a peek into the future. Platforms like Walrus keep AI models and datasets from becoming too centralized. Like what we allow with social media. It’s a big step forward for decentralized AI and for Walrus.
New Partners including Lombard
Along with all this growth is some great new partners that will lead to lots of new business for Walrus.
Plume
First is the RWA platform Plume. The main element here is asset and data verification for the platform. This includes data TradFi needs like compliance data and metadata, too.
RWA + Move = The Future@PlumeNetwork has chosen @WalrusProtocol to provide secure, programmable storage for all applicable apps in its ecosystem, ensuring verified asset data for TradFi & DeFi.
Walrus is here to help L1s and L2s store their data. pic.twitter.com/3jiSQF4Hn3
— Walrus
/acc (@WalrusProtocol) March 11, 2025
TradePort
Next is the NFT multichain trading platform TradePort. Partnering and running a Walrus validator is a clear vote of confidence. Walrus storage protects NFTs and other large data files.
We’re excited to announce that TradePort will be running a validator node for @WalrusProtocol, the decentralized storage protocol powering dynamic and programmable NFTs on @SuiNetwork and beyond.
This marks a new chapter in our commitment to decentralized infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/BVZyYUduTI
— TradePort (@tradeportxyz) March 21, 2025
Linera
New Layer 1 chain Linera chose Walrus as its storage partner. They can concentrate on security and scalability. Meanwhile, data storage and accessibility are left to the experts. Linera expects to be able to operate as a faster modular chain with this technical setup. It sounds promising to us too. Plus, it makes for a new market for more Walrus clients in the future.
L1 blockchain @Linera_io has chosen Walrus as its storage buddy
Linera’s microchains + Walrus’ onchain blobs = instant scalability, real-time data, and no centralized headaches.
Walrus is here to help L1s and L2s store their data.
Read on for more
https://t.co/QjsceJGMqg pic.twitter.com/ivlcQrxEWA
— Walrus
/acc (@WalrusProtocol) February 25, 2025
Plus, now Sui is the first non-EVM chain to offer Lombard’s LBTC. We expect some of that extra liquidity coming online will go to Walrus too.
$WAL Tokenomics
Here are the tokenomics you can expect for the native $WAL token. But first, Co-founder of Mysten Labs Adeniyi Abiodun says that the $WAL airdrop will be one of the largest and most distributed in history.
Its looking like @WalrusProtocol will be one of the largest airdrops in crypto history. And @SuiNetwork community wins big!
— Adeniyi.sui (@EmanAbio) March 4, 2025
That’s a big claim. We also know that piggybacking on Sui’s growth has meant A LOT of people tried Walrus while in its successful testnet. So that’s lots of wallets that could qualify.
The $WAL tokenomics are here on this page. Highlights include:
- Using $WAL to pay for storage, but with a mechanism that keeps costs stable in fiat dollars for users.
- A burn mechanism from slashing or from shifting from one staker to another. Both burn mechanisms come from staking. They will add deflationary pressure to $WAL.
- 60% allocation to the community through airdrops, incentives, and subsidies.
- 5 billion total supply of $WAL with an initial circulating supply starting at 25% of that or 1.25 billion.
You can read more about the vesting schedules and token unlocks and see that many have a 4-year lock and some have 1 year.
Source: $WAL tokenomics
It’s a good setup for investors, and retail investors are getting the chance to get in now on good terms.
So far, publicly, the first exchange offering $WAL starting on Thursday is MEXC. More are sure to follow as well as DEXes both in and outside the Sui ecosystem.
Demand for $WAL is high and for once retail and other small investors get a real chance to get in early on a quality project like Walrus.
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.
We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so please do your due diligence. This article has been sponsored by Walrus.
Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.
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