Walrus and Irys represent two distinct approaches to decentralized data infrastructure. @WalrusProtocol extends the modular design of the existing Sui ecosystem. It uses smart contracts to coordinate storage, manage incentives, and enable programmable access. Walrus serves as a data availability layer for large files, featuring built-in erasure coding. That means it’s ideal for files such as media, datasets, and AI models. @irys_xyz, by contrast, is a full blockchain optimized for data. It combines storage, compute, and economic incentives into a single protocol. This enables features like storage-based mining, direct access to data through smart contracts, and durability guarantees. Walrus shows how modular architecture can be stitched together to deliver practical decentralized storage. And Irys shows what’s possible when data becomes native to the chain itself. Both are betting on a future where data is verifiable, accessible, and programmable. Their approaches may...