Not every piece of data can be converted into cash, but some data's value far exceeds commercial significance—original datasets for scientific research, source code repositories for open-source projects, archived historical documents, endangered language literature. These are the common property of all humanity and should be preserved permanently and properly. Walrus Protocol, with its low storage costs, opens a new door for the protection of such public assets.

The problem is complex. Relying solely on the market to drive this, these non-profit data archives will eventually disappear due to lack of buyers. Traditional "perpetual preservation funds" sound good, but funds will eventually run out and are often controlled by a centralized entity. What we need is a truly decentralized, self-sustaining public data storage system.

Based on Walrus's programmability and the power of DAO, a completely new funding model is feasible:

First, establish a public data fund. A portion of network revenue or community-specific funds can flow into a "public data pool" smart contract.

Second, open proposals and voting. Whether individuals or institutions (museums, research centers, cultural organizations), can submit applications to use this fund to pay for their long-term storage costs on Walrus.

Third, community decision-making. Token holders vote via DAO to determine which datasets are truly worth funding. This effectively decentralizes "curation"—no longer dictated by a single authority, but by the entire community through voting consensus.

Fourth, automated execution. Once a proposal is approved, funds are automatically disbursed in installments to storage nodes according to the rules of the smart contract, with full transparency and traceability.

What’s interesting about this model is that it reinvests the economic value generated by the protocol itself back into maintaining the knowledge base of all humanity. Nodes are incentivized to serve the public interest, demonstrating the real potential of Web3 technology in coordinating public resources and solving social problems. Holding and staking tokens is not just a gamble on a project's prospects, but participation in a public mission that could span several centuries.

This idea may sound a bit idealistic, but it is precisely this kind of idealism that elevates technology from mere profit-driven motives to a grander narrative. In the digital age, protecting our cultural memory is itself the most important infrastructure development.