2026 is here. If blockchain projects still want to survive the AI wave, they must figure out one key question: where is the data stored?

What’s in front of us now is a huge opportunity—the full-scale explosion of AI agents. These systems need data to stay alive, just like humans need to eat. The question is, where should this "food" be stored? Traditional centralized solutions are clearly no longer viable.

Let’s look at how some leading storage protocols are doing it. They’ve introduced programmable data blocks, which are essentially tailor-made solutions for AI. Why say that? There are several hardcore reasons:

**First, speed.** AI model training and real-time inference demand an insatiable appetite for data access. Old storage protocols have latency measured in minutes, which AI simply cannot wait for. The new solutions support millisecond-level instant access, allowing AI agents to quickly retrieve data from the chain just like humans do, completely bypassing bottlenecks of centralized servers. The efficiency can be said to be soaring.

**Second, ownership.** We’ve been burned in the Web2 era—big companies freely use our data to train models, leaving us with no money and no rights. Now, with the latest privacy technologies, you can truly own your data. In the future, AI companies wanting to use your data? They’ll have to pay via a token mechanism, which is real fairness.

**Third, real usability.** This isn’t just talk; some projects are already experimenting with this model.

The era is moving in this direction. Whoever positions themselves correctly will win.