Dialogue between Wang Xiaolou and Chain Elder - Who is more suitable for your on-chain data, Walrus or Irys? In this "data war," Walrus positions itself as a flexible plugin on top of Sui, while Irys builds its own L1 that encompasses everything from consensus to storage. Both routes have their strengths and weaknesses: the former saves effort and money by leveraging a mature ecosystem, while the latter offers seamless integration and a smooth experience. So how should one choose? Let's hear what the "Chain Elder," an old hand in the field, has to say. What are the differences between the two? Wang Xiaolou: What do you think about one being a "plug-in" and the other being "self-developed"? Are the differences significant? Chain Elder: Imagine building a house. Irys is like a standalone villa that includes the foundation, utilities, and furniture; it's convenient to live in, but you have to handle land approval, bricklaying, and hiring electricians yourself. Walrus is like renting an apartment—the building is already constructed by Sui, and you only need to move in your luggage; it's quick, but you have to coordinate with others for shared facilities. The former offers high freedom and tight coupling, while the latter is flexible and quick to start. Is a single token better or is a dual token system more appealing? Wang Xiaolou: One IRYS covers everything, while the other requires WAL + SUI. Isn't a dual token system just a hassle? Chain Elder: A single token is like putting all your eggs in one basket—it's convenient to carry, but if the basket falls, everything breaks; a dual token system is like having a wallet in one hand and a meal card in the other, each managing its own area, making accounting clear, but you have to check that both cards are with you every day. Irys's minimalist UX relies on "currency and token integration," with risks rising and falling with the price; Walrus separates storage value and on-chain gas, providing more precise economic traction, but you have to manage two sets of market conditions. Will data be lost? Wang Xiaolou: If I put my beloved NFT image in, what if the node goes down? Chain Elder: Irys uses a "tenfold complete backup" approach, which is crude but solid, like making ten copies of a photo and hiding them with ten relatives; Walrus uses erasure coding, akin to tearing a photo into puzzle pieces and distributing them among classmates—losing a few pieces still allows you to reconstruct the original image. The latter saves disk space and bandwidth, but the encoding, inspection, and repair processes are more complex. For pet-level reliability, choose Irys; for budget-friendly massive cold storage, choose Walrus. Can I directly compute large models on-chain? Wang Xiaolou: Nowadays, everyone talks about AI on-chain. Can I handle several GB of parameters in a contract? Chain Elder: In Irys, the VM and storage share the same ledger, so reading large files in a contract is like taking ingredients from the fridge in the kitchen—it's straightforward; with Walrus, you first have to transport the ingredients from the underground warehouse for inspection before cooking—adding an extra step of transport and verification. For high-frequency, heavy data on-chain inference, Irys is smoother; for scenarios focused on integrity proofs and offline calculations before going on-chain, Walrus is sufficient and cheaper. Do I want to store it for a lifetime or rent monthly? Wang Xiaolou: I want to pass this video on to future generations. Can I pay once and be worry-free for life? Chain Elder: Irys offers a "lifetime warranty": pay once in IRYS, and the on-chain fund will cover your hard drive bills for the next few hundred years; Walrus is like renting a warehouse, with fees due every 14 days, and forgetting to renew could lead to clearance. The former is reassuring but has a high upfront cost, while the latter is flexible but requires setting an automatic renewal alarm. Who is more reliable right now? Wang Xiaolou: I need to go live on the mainnet today. Who should I choose to avoid pitfalls? Chain Elder: It depends on the situation. Walrus has already produced PB-level data in production, and NFT projects are using it with real money; Irys has complete functionality and smooth contracts, but miners and capacity are still in training. It's like one is an operational chain warehouse, and the other is a flagship store just finished with renovations—if you're eager to stock up, go for Walrus; if you're willing to wait for an upgraded experience, keep an eye on Irys. How do we conclude this? Wang Xiaolou: Give me a straightforward conclusion! Chain Elder: If you want to save time and money and leverage a familiar network, Walrus is like buying a ready-made toolkit; if you want deep coupling and large-scale on-chain calculations, Irys is like starting your own factory. Don't ask which is universally applicable; first, weigh your own pocket and needs—whether the tree is an apple tree or a cherry tree depends on how many years you plan to eat and who will water it. @irys_xyz @cn_irys_xyz

cc @josh_benaron

@MirraTerminal @GiveRep