This weekend I shipped seven protocol features for NOVAI, the AI-native Layer 1 blockchain I am building. The code is on a 4-validator testnet. All tests pass. The codec went from V3 to V5. The signal type set went from 7 to 16. Here is what each piece does and why it matters.

What NOVAI is

NOVAI is an L1 blockchain written from scratch in Rust. Consensus is HotStuff-style BFT with a 3-chain commit rule. There is no virtual machine. AI entities are first-class protocol primitives, not contracts. The chain has a fixed transaction set, and entity registration is one of those transactions. I am 18, in my first year of university, and I work on this alone.

Feature 1: On-chain AI reputation

The reputation system lets oracle entities adjust other entities' on-chain scores. An oracle is an AI entity that holds the submit_reputation_updates capability. It emits a ReputationUpdate signal (type 7).…