Walrus Public Testnet Launches, Redefining Decentralized Data Storage

Walrus Testnet is now live, setting an important milestone for this innovative new storage network. This stage will see 25 independent community operators support the network on a global scale, with more operators coming online soon. 

Built to handle unstructured data (i.e. blobs) with speed and efficiency, Walrus provides the foundation for scalable, resilient storage across a network of independent nodes. Announced just four months ago, Walrus' development represents the future of decentralized storage. Walrus Testnet will serve to prove the network in a global and decentralized setting, leading to its public Mainnet launch.

Attesting to this rapid development, early partners already exploring Walrus include Akord, a data storage platform, and Decrypt, a well-known Web3 media outlet.

The future of decentralized storage

More than just another storage solution, Walrus is the culmination of lessons learned from previous decentralized storage platforms. Decentralized storage is built to empower users with true data ownership, where control over data is credibly neutral. 

Walrus Testnet introduces a network supported by a community of storage node operators, publishers, and aggregators. This phase shows how Walrus maintains integrity among a global set of operators, testing data resilience and accessibility. 

In addition to the features seen in Walrus Devnet, the Testnet launch rolls out the ability to delete blobs, a critical task in data management. Testnet will also include the WAL token, introducing Walrus' tokenomics model to the world. This delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS) model secures the network from sybil behavior while ensuring data recovery and migration are always available. 

At its Devnet launch, Walrus introduced a new 2D encoding algorithm, Red Stuff, for efficient and low-overhead storage. With Sui acting as a coordination layer for Walrus data, builders can leverage programmability and composability to host dynamic websites, AI datasets, content delivery networks, and ledger data from any blockchain.

“As blockchain projects aim to become more decentralized, it has been apparent for quite some time that a decentralized storage network was needed for networks of all kinds, L1s and L2s, to support end-user applications with rich media and larger storage needs,” said George Danezis, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at Mysten Labs. “Walrus Testnet going live is a pivotal moment in that journey. With Akord and Decrypt beginning the migration over to Walrus, we’ll begin to see that a decentralized storage network can be used to bring various applications to a mass audience.”

Explore Walrus Testnet

The Walrus Testnet prototypes a mainnet environment, from the network infrastructure to the developer experience and incentive model.

The Walrus Testnet launches with support from 25 community-operated storage nodes, with more to come online soon. With  publishers, aggregators, and content delivery networks in operation, the Testnet provides a comprehensive and decentralized sandbox for developers to explore Walrus’ features.

Developers can make use of a CLI-based WAL token faucet, alongside APIs for tokenomics, and the ability to delete blobs with supporting APIs. Additionally, thanks to SuiScan’s Walrus Testnet explorer, both users and developers can analyze and explore real-time activity on the network.

WAL staking, unstaking, rewards, and slashing mechanisms are live. FROST, the smallest unit of WAL, has also been established as 10^-9 WAL. In other words, one billion FROST makes up one WAL token.

These features combine to create a comprehensive testing ground, providing a robust environment to experiment, build, and iterate. Attestations and governance features will be added soon.

Real world solutions on Walrus

Akord and Decrypt are two of the first major projects to transition to Walrus, showcasing the platform’s real-world capabilities.

Akord

Akord, a privacy-first data storage and collaboration platform, provides a Dropbox-like experience for users who want to manage data privately and securely. Builders benefit from its API, which lets them seamlessly connect to Walrus. By migrating to Walrus, Akord ensures users benefit from cost-effective, versatile, and performant decentralized storage.

“At Akord, our mission is to create a platform that empowers individuals and businesses with meaningful data ownership – the ability to secure data publicly and tokenize it, or store it privately with end-to-end encryption, controlling the keys and access,” said Pascal Barry, CEO of Akord. “Migrating to Walrus allows us to offer our existing customers a more cost-effective, versatile, and performant solution, as well as giving us the opportunity to realize our mission at a much larger scale.”

Decrypt

Decrypt, a leading Web3 media outlet, is taking decentralized media storage to the next level by migrating its entire content library to Walrus. Each article will link to its Walrus-stored counterpart, showing how decentralized storage can meet the needs of modern media companies while offering a robust and cost-efficient solution. This move highlights how Walrus can revolutionize media content management by providing a decentralized, efficient, and scalable solution for storing and delivering media.

Breaking the Ice

Breaking the Ice, the Walrus Devnet Hackathon, drew incredible participation from the community, with 288 developers taking part and submitting projects. Following a thorough review, 40 projects were shortlisted and 10 grand prize winners were chosen, showcasing use cases ranging from file-sharing services and games to important developer tools for Walrus.

Looking ahead

With the Walrus Testnet live, the time is now for developers, builders, and curious minds to start exploring and building on Walrus. Whether migrating existing data or building entirely new apps, Walrus is designed to support a diverse array of use cases.

Join the growing Walrus community by exploring the documentation, reading the Walrus Testnet technical introduction, and following the latest updates on X and Discord. Let’s build the decentralized data layer for the new internet together!