Having worked in the Web3 data layer for many years, I’ve noticed a phenomenon: the true competition among decentralized storage projects is not about who has more aggressive technical parameters, but whether they can do three things simultaneously—maintain decentralization, meet compliance requirements, and create business value. Most projects are either hijacked by the ideal of decentralization and abandon compliance; or they compromise wildly for monetization, ultimately losing their original technical intent. The result is a mess.

When Walrus appeared in my view, the background was very eye-catching: incubated by Mysten Labs and raised $140 million. But having substantial funding and a good background is nothing new. The key question is whether it can truly solve the industry's dilemma. I spent nearly a month dissecting the project from four angles: compliance architecture, business implementation, token design, and ecosystem layout. The conclusion is—this set of things exceeded my initial expectations.

It’s not just a storage tool. Walrus is building a complete data infrastructure centered on compliance, with technology as the backbone, integrating AI + RWA for real-world scenarios. This positioning is quite unique.

Next, I will use the first person, based on my practical experience in RWA compliance implementation and AI data storage, to elaborate on the entire project logic from four perspectives: compliance architecture design, business scenario implementation, token value verification, and ecosystem risk warning. All supported by real data and primary research, aiming to uncover the project’s core competitiveness while not avoiding potential compliance and business risks.

Let’s start by breaking down the compliance architecture. This is the core factor determining whether the project can break through, and it’s also the most common pitfall for most competitors.