The Seven Layers

The seven layers are the shape of the protocol. You'll see them referenced in decks and in blog posts, and they're useful if you want to understand why the docs are organized the way they are. But you don't need to think about the layers to use HeartBadge — members think about their badge, their balance, their status. This page is for the kind of reader who wants the scaffolding.

1. Identity

Every badge has a unique identifier and a derivation path that encodes its program and tier. Identifiers are Luhn-checksummed so they're hard to corrupt. Identity is the layer everything else attaches to — your badge is a CAT-721 token bound to a specific UTXO, and your public key is known. This means your badge identity is also your messagebox identity, your payment identity, and your attestation identity. No separate accounts. Deep dive: Identity Model.

2. Rewards

Reward balances sit on top of identity. HeartBadge uses MNEE, a two-tier ledger: in-the-moment accrual for responsiveness, on-chain settlement for auditability. Members see one balance; under the hood it's reconciled. Rewards can be sent to other members, used to pay for attention (paid inbox), or spent on content (alta.live streams, event access). Deep dive: MNEE Rewards Pipeline.

3. Proof

Anything the badge asserts — I own this, I was at this event, I earned this reward — can be verified without talking to HeartChain Labs. Proofs are carried by the badge itself (SPV, BEEF). This is what makes offline verification work at a turnstile or farebox with no internet connection. Co-sign attestations between two members are also proofs: "I was here, and so was this person, at this time." Deep dive: SPV and Offline.

4. Status

HRTB tiers sit on top of identity and earnings. Status isn't a token; it's a multiplier that affects how much you earn from every activity. It stays with the badge, can't be transferred, and doesn't inflate. Higher status also unlocks more trust — your humanity score (derived from participation history) can gate inbox access for other members. Deep dive: What Is HRTB.

5. Communication

The messagebox surface is how operators, other members, and your own tools reach your badge without needing your email or phone. Messages are authenticated by BRC-31 — cryptographically signed by the sender's identity key (which is their badge). The permission model lets you set: free delivery from other HeartBadge members, paid delivery from non-members, blocked from revoked badges. Every paid message is a micropayment in MNEE that flows to you, not to the platform. This is the layer where attention has a price and presence has a reward. Currently on the Horizon.

6. Interaction

Bump interactions — tap-to-connect, tap-to-send, tap-to-attest — turn digital membership into something that happens in-person. Two members bump phones and both sign a mutual co-sign attestation. That attestation can stay private (just between them) or be published to a public messagebox. Bump-to-gift, bump-to-send, bump-to-connect — the badge surface becomes physical. Currently on the Horizon.

7. Sustainability

HeartBadge doesn't charge recurring fees. The platform deploys capital, earns yield, and distributes rewards to members through HeartBeat multipliers. This is what keeps the promise durable — it's the difference between a subscription you have to keep paying and a membership that keeps rewarding you. The economic loop is: member participates → earns rewards → public activity attracts attention → attention generates paid messages → paid messages generate more rewards → member spends on other members' content → those members earn → cycle repeats. Platform takes minimal fees. Rewards in circulation. Deep dive: Rewards Economics.

How to read the rest of the docs

Members almost never think about layers. They think about what can I do. The Members section is organized around actions — activating, balances, sending, redeeming, earning. The layer mapping is only useful when you're comparing HeartBadge to other systems or writing about it externally.

The three-layer architecture — OP_CAT Layer for identity, BSV for rewards and communication, OP_CAT Labs for proof — maps loosely to these layers but isn't a 1:1 correspondence. The chains are infrastructure; the layers are the member experience. See Three-Chain Overview.