WALRUS: What the token does (mechanics and intent)
• Payment: WAL is the unit users pay to rent storage; payments are collected up-front and distributed over time to nodes and stakers so storage economics remain sustainable and to smooth token-price volatility versus fiat storage costs.
• Security: Delegated staking secures the protocol. Users can delegate to nodes; nodes compete for stake and rewards. Slashing (planned) will penalize poor-performing nodes.
• Governance: WAL holders (through node/stake voting) set operational parameters and penalties — nodes have voting power roughly proportional to stake attracted.
• Deflation / penalties: Two burn mechanisms are described — penalties for short-term stake shifts (partial burn + partial distribution) and partial burns from slashing low-performing nodes. These are explicitly positioned as anti-churn and performance aligners.
