Walrus and Irys: Two Paths for On-Chain Data Storage

Walrus and Irys, as on-chain data storage solutions, represent different design philosophies. This article objectively compares these two projects from multiple dimensions, providing a selection guide for developers.

1. Protocol Architecture

Irys adopts a vertically integrated monolithic architecture that combines storage, execution, and consensus. Walrus, on the other hand, is a horizontally layered modular solution that relies on Sui for coordination and settlement.

The advantage of Irys lies in its high architectural consistency and native development experience, but it requires building the ecosystem from scratch. Walrus reduces the access threshold by leveraging the mature infrastructure of Sui, but it needs to handle the complexity of cross-layer coordination.

2. Token Economics and Incentive Mechanisms

Irys uses a single token IRYS to drive the entire protocol stack, simplifying the user experience, but concentrating risk. Walrus adopts a dual-token model of WAL and SUI, achieving economic boundary delineation, but needs to balance the two market systems.

3. Data Persistence and Redundancy Strategies

Walrus uses erasure coding to achieve about 5 times redundancy, resulting in high space efficiency. Irys adopts a 10-replica strategy, which is logically simple but has high storage overhead.

Walrus is suitable for large-scale archival data storage, while Irys focuses more on operational simplicity.

4. Programmable Data and On-Chain Computation

Irys natively supports contracts to directly read data, making it suitable for scenarios that frequently handle large data. Walrus adopts a "validate first, compute later" model, which does not require modifications to L1 but makes processing large data more complex.

5. Storage Duration and Permanence

Walrus offers an on-demand rental model that is flexible but requires management of renewals. Irys supports a one-time payment for permanent storage, which has a high initial cost but requires no management in the long term.

6. Network Maturity and Usage

Walrus has reached PB-level storage scale, with over a hundred node operators and multiple well-known projects adopting it. Irys is still in the early stages, with a smaller storage capacity and node network scale.

7. Summary

Irys pursues a combination of deep data and computation, suitable for scenarios that require native big data access. Walrus focuses on capital efficiency and rapid deployment, making it more suitable for developers in the Sui ecosystem who have flexible storage needs. Both have their advantages and may develop in parallel in different application scenarios in the future.