There is a particular type of token in the crypto space that is especially awkward—loud slogans reaching to the sky, but no one actually uses it in practice. The narrative talks about infrastructure, with settlement relying entirely on faith; promoted as network fuel, but in reality, few people actually use it for payments. In the end, the token price swings like a roller coaster, protocol revenue depends on mood, and the so-called long-term value is just a numbers game.

However, Walrus has chosen a different path. It doesn't boast shamelessly but starts from the most solid ground: first locking in real settlement scenarios, embedding security and incentives into the code logic, and then using deflationary expectations to keep long-term participants' behavior on track. It sounds like a textbook approach, but the key is that every link is genuinely embedded in on-chain rules, not just black-and-white words on paper.

WAL's positioning is straightforward—it's the token used for Walrus storage and payments. But the clever part is that the goal of the payment mechanism isn't to make users spend more money, but to keep storage costs stable in fiat terms as much as possible, reducing the impact of WAL's own volatility on long-term users. This is especially critical for teams working on AI and DeFi products. You need to plan your budget long-term and set prices for users, and the biggest fear is that costs will wildly fluctuate with the token price.

Walrus's solution is to bundle storage into a clear time-based contract. Users aren't paying for a fleeting "one-time write" transaction, but for data "stored over a fixed period." The fee is paid upfront, but this money is distributed in phases to storage nodes and stakers throughout the entire period as compensation for their ongoing service provision.

This effectively turns storage from a one-time transaction into a subscription service. The cost expectations from demand side and the continuous fulfillment from supply side are tied together—user fees are stable and predictable, and node income is continuously assured.