In a distributed blockchain ecosystem, cross-chain liquidity is like isolated islands—users need to transfer assets between different chains, enduring exorbitant Gas fees, long block confirmation times, and having to research the optimal routes themselves. The current mainstream solutions mainly involve building bridges, which are usable but not very smart, let alone efficient.

The Walrus protocol changes the game. Its core logic is "intent-driven"—you don't need to worry about how to cross chains, just tell the system what you want. For example, "I want to swap 100 USDT on Arbitrum for ETH on Base chain, completed within 10 seconds, with the best exchange rate," then Walrus's Solver network automatically bids for the optimal solution for you, completing it in one second. From manual operations to declarative results, this is indeed a qualitative leap.

So what is $WAL's role in this system? It's far more than just a governance token:

**First, the trust mechanism of the network.** Solver participants must stake $WAL to bid, which proves their capability and also serves as a constraint—malicious behavior results in penalties, creating a strong incentive.

**Second, the incentive flow within the ecosystem.** Users can choose to use $WAL to gain higher priority and handle more complex transactions. The value of $WAL is genuinely circulated through these usage rights.

In simple terms, this design turns cross-chain liquidity from a passive technical problem into an active economic incentive issue. Every participant is either paying for or profiting from the overall network efficiency.