In the crypto world, what determines how far a protocol can go is never short-term hype or token price fluctuations, but user retention, real business needs, and the depth of ecosystem collaboration. The logic of the underlying protocol Walrus Protocol is very clear—it’s not just about providing decentralized storage, but about building an irreplaceable ecosystem through economic incentives, cross-application calls, and data reliability.

Just look at the current on-chain data. Total storage has surpassed 1.3 PB, with nearly 193,000 active users tinkering on it, and over 22 million calls made daily. More than 360 DApps have integrated, covering NFT gaming, DeFi, and content creation, with a fairly broad scope. Compared to the overall scale of the crypto space, these numbers are not astronomical, but it’s evident that the ecosystem is growing steadily, not just hot air.

What’s truly interesting is the formation of network effects. Once user data is stored, applications start calling each other, creating switching costs. The more people use it and the more applications connect, the higher the switching costs for newcomers. This is not a one-time business but compound growth—every new piece of stored data and each on-chain access reinforces the ecosystem’s stickiness. As AI data services and more DeFi protocols join in succession, this network effect will snowball.

There’s also an incentive mechanism accelerating the entire process. Over the past month, approximately 125,000 tokens have been distributed to storage and access users. This is not just simple subsidies but aims to create dependency among users and developers. When incentives and ecosystem value form a closed loop, the protocol’s moat is truly built.