Heima vs Traditional Layer 1: How Modular AI Infrastructure Reshapes Blockchain Architecture?

June 29, 2026, according to Gate market data, Heima (HEI) is priced at $0.14509, with a 24-hour increase of 3.40% and a 7-day increase of 64.42%. This price performance is not an isolated market fluctuation—it occurs within a larger structural narrative: the deep integration of AI and blockchain infrastructure is moving from proof of concept to large-scale implementation.

According to Gate market data, as of June 26, 2026, the total market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency market is approximately $2.14 trillion. In the first quarter of 2026, global cryptocurrency trading volume reached $20.57 trillion, with AI-generated trading activity accounting for over 15% of decentralized exchange trading volume, a significant increase from 3% a year ago. Since 2025, over 17,000 AI agents have been deployed on-chain, with automated activity accounting for approximately 19% of all on-chain transactions.

Against this backdrop, a fundamental question emerges: Are traditional Layer 1 blockchain architectures sufficient to support an AI agent-dominated future? The answer points to a systemic restructuring from the underlying architecture to the application layer—modular blockchains, AI execution layers, and decentralized computing networks are collectively rewriting the design paradigm of blockchain. Heima is one of the representative projects in this wave of restructuring.

Modular Blockchain: The "Lego-like" Foundation for the AI Era

Traditional monolithic chain architectures consolidate all functions—consensus, execution, data availability, and settlement—into a single network layer. This design offered simplicity advantages in the early stages of blockchain development, but as application scenarios become more complex, its scalability bottlenecks, high fees, and low flexibility have increasingly become limiting factors.

In 2026, public chains are fully transitioning from monolithic architectures to modular designs that decouple consensus, execution, data availability, and settlement into separate layers. The core idea of a modular blockchain is to split the system into four independent modules: the consensus layer handles global node consensus and network security; the data availability layer stores on-chain raw data, ensuring data is accessible and verifiable; the execution layer focuses on processing transactions and smart contract computations; and the settlement layer completes final transaction confirmation and asset liquidation.

The performance improvements brought by this architecture are orders of magnitude. Compared to traditional monolithic blockchains, the modular architecture increases overall transaction processing capacity by more than three times, reducing on-chain fees by 70%. The deployment cycle for new chains has been compressed from six months to two weeks, with costs reduced by 85%. After the data availability layer is decoupled, solutions like EigenDA reduce on-chain storage costs by 90%, supporting millions of TPS.

The significance of modular architecture for the AI ecosystem is particularly profound. AI agents require a high-frequency, low-cost transaction environment to handle micropayments, data procurement, and computing power settlements—scenarios where the execution layer's throughput and fee sensitivity far exceed those of traditional DeFi applications. Modular blockchains make it possible to customize execution layers for AI scenarios, providing the underlying feasibility for the large-scale deployment of AI-native applications.

Heima's position in this trend is noteworthy. Its Layer 1 network is built on the Substrate framework, inherently possessing modular characteristics. As a chain abstraction coordination layer, Heima does not attempt to reconstruct an all-encompassing monolithic chain but instead builds a "network of networks" that can connect and coordinate multiple modular chains—users no longer need to care which chain their assets reside on, nor do they need to plan cross-chain steps themselves. Instead, they directly submit their final goal, and the network automatically completes the execution.

AI Execution Layer: From Supporting Tool to Independent Economic Entity

If modular blockchains address the question of "how to make the underlying layer more efficient," then the AI execution layer answers the question of "how the upper layer operates."

Between May 2025 and April 2026, AI agents completed approximately 176 million transactions across multiple blockchain networks, with a total settlement amount exceeding $73 million, and a median single payment amount of just $0.31 to $0.48. As of the first quarter of 2026, over 104k AI agents have registered. These data reveal a clear fact: AI agents are evolving from information processing tools into independent economic participants.

This transformation has given rise to a core infrastructure requirement—the execution layer. Traditional transaction infrastructure is designed under the assumption of "human-operated interfaces"—market displays, order confirmations, asset transfers—every step is benchmarked to the cognitive pace and operational habits of human users. But when participants shift from humans to AI, this assumption begins to fail. AI needs programmatic interfaces, low-latency execution, and programmable payment primitives, not graphical interfaces and manual confirmations.

This is precisely Heima's core focus. Heima's Omni Executor is an intent-driven execution layer that can automatically decompose high-level user goals (such as swapping, staking, and cross-chain actions) into optimal multi-step execution paths. More importantly, Heima leverages TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) to ensure the security of the execution process, safeguarding users' sensitive logic and private memory.

In March 2026, Heima announced its participation in the Agentic Economy, aiming to build a non-custodial infrastructure that allows AI agents to freely trade in a verifiable on-chain economy. Under this framework, autonomous AI agents can not only assist users but also make independent decisions, execute transactions, pay service fees, coordinate with other agents, and interact directly with on-chain protocols. The essence of the agentic economy is to transform AI agents into independent economic entities rather than merely tools to be called upon—this shift imposes entirely new requirements on the execution layer: verifiability, automation, and low friction.

Decentralized Computing Network: From Identity Aggregation to Chain Abstraction

Heima's predecessor is Litentry, a network focused on decentralized identity aggregation. In early 2024, the project underwent a brand upgrade, shifting its strategic focus from on-chain identity aggregation to chain abstraction infrastructure. This transformation is not merely a business expansion but a deep response to industry trends.

By mid-2024, Heima extended its infrastructure beyond identity aggregation, introducing AI-driven predictive analytics, chain abstraction technology, and cross-chain bridges. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Heima completed its chain abstraction infrastructure, enabling users to connect once and seamlessly access all chains. In the first quarter of 2025, Heima launched Omni Account, allowing users to conduct multi-chain transactions through a single account.

From an architectural perspective, Heima has built a four-pillar system: the Heima Layer 1 network serves as the coordination and registration layer, ensuring all participants and executions are traceable, verifiable, and auditable across domains; Omni Account unifies user identities across multiple chains; Intent infrastructure eliminates the need for users to understand and manage different networks; and Agent Hub acts as a permissionless marketplace for agents and bot services. These four components are designed to be modular yet tightly integrated, collectively building a chain-agnostic, intent-driven automated ecosystem.

The value of this architecture lies in the fact that it not only solves the technical problem of "how to cross chains" but also redefines the way users interact with blockchain. Traditional blockchains require users to understand underlying network structures, manage multiple wallets, and hold different gas tokens—these barriers are systematically removed in Heima's chain abstraction model. Users only need to express their final goal, and the system automatically coordinates the underlying links and execution flow.

Heima's Market Performance and Ecosystem Progress

As of June 29, 2026, Heima (HEI) is priced at $0.14509, with a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $930.2k and a market cap of approximately $9.81 million. Its 7-day increase is 64.42%, its 30-day increase is 22.80%, and its 90-day increase is 83.51%.

Key recent ecosystem developments include: In June 2026, the Heima community voted to approve a proposal to "burn 16.5 million HEI tokens." The proposal permanently burns 16.5 million HEI from the ecosystem allocation, including 12.05 million locked HEI and 4.45 million unlocked but unutilized HEI tokens. The burn will be executed 288,000 blocks after the referendum passes. This deflationary mechanism aims to reduce circulating supply and enhance the long-term value of the ecosystem.

Notably, on May 15, 2026, Binance delisted the HEI margin trading pair. This event reduced leveraged trading access and potential liquidity depth, impacting short-term market structure. However, from a technical and fundamental perspective, Heima's core narrative—the combination of chain abstraction infrastructure and the AI agent economy—continues to attract market attention.

Conclusion

Traditional Layer 1 blockchains were designed in an era centered on "humans." In that era, the core task of blockchain was to carry human user transactions, store human user assets, and execute smart contracts written by human users. But when AI agents flood on-chain at a scale of tens of thousands per month, when machine-to-machine payments account for nearly one-fifth of on-chain transactions, and when the median amount of a single AI transaction is less than $0.50—the limitations of the traditional architecture become apparent.

Modular blockchains provide underlying "Lego-like" flexibility, AI execution layers provide high-frequency automation capabilities on top, and decentralized computing networks weave these together into a unified user experience layer. Heima's uniqueness lies in its spanning of all three dimensions simultaneously: a Substrate-based modular Layer 1, an Omni Executor-centric AI execution layer, and a chain abstraction-targeted decentralized computing network.

From Litentry to Heima, from identity aggregation to chain abstraction, from human users to AI agents—this evolutionary path reveals a larger trend: blockchain infrastructure is shifting from "designed for humans" to "designed for machines." This is not merely a technical architecture adjustment but a restructuring of the fundamental logic of the crypto economy. In this restructuring, networks that can simultaneously harness modularity, execution layers, and decentralized computing are poised to become the infrastructure pillars of the next-generation AI-native crypto economy.

FAQ

What is the most core difference between Heima and traditional Layer 1 blockchains?

Traditional Layer 1 blockchains (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum) primarily address asset transfer and smart contract execution, requiring users to manage wallets, gas, and cross-chain operations themselves. Heima, on the other hand, is a chain abstraction coordination layer where users simply submit their intent (Intent), and the system automatically handles execution path planning, cross-chain liquidity, and gas payments. The core difference is shifting from "user-driven execution" to "intent-driven execution."

How does Heima's Omni Executor ensure the security of AI transactions?

Omni Executor uses TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) to secure the execution process, ensuring the safety of users' sensitive logic and private memory. All execution records are anchored to the Heima Layer 1 network for verification and auditing, enabling traceable and verifiable on-chain execution. This design allows AI agents to freely trade in a non-custodial infrastructure while reducing the risk of hacker attacks and asset theft.

How does Heima's modular architecture support the high-frequency trading needs of AI agents?

Heima Layer 1 is built on Substrate, inherently possessing modular features. Its intent-driven architecture decomposes complex cross-chain tasks into parallelizable subtasks, coordinated by the Agent Hub to execute nodes. This design enables AI agents to complete high-frequency micropayments and data procurement at low cost and low latency, without relying on centralized cloud platforms.

What role does the HEI token play in the Heima network?

HEI is the governance and utility token of the Heima network. Holders can participate in on-chain governance voting, deciding protocol parameters and ecosystem fund allocation. In June 2026, the community voted to approve a deflationary proposal to burn 16.5 million HEI. Additionally, HEI is used to pay network transaction fees and incentivize execution nodes.

What is the difference between Heima and Particle Network in the chain abstraction赛道?

Both belong to the chain abstraction track, but they abstract different objects. Particle Network primarily abstracts the account and liquidity layers, focusing on "how users manage multi-chain identities and assets." Heima not only abstracts accounts and assets but also abstracts the execution process itself, focusing on "how users complete cross-chain tasks." In short, Particle Network is more concerned with a unified entry point, while Heima is more concerned with unified execution.