Skip to main content
SUBMIT A PRSUBMIT AN ISSUElast edit: Jul 23, 2024

Delegation

Staking

See also Staking.

TAO holders can delegate any amount of their stake to a subnet validator through a process called delegation. Delegation on the Bittensor network works like this:

  • A TAO holder, i.e., a delegator, also called a nominator, stakes with a subnet validator, making this subnet validator a delegate of the nominator. This supports the delegate as the delegate's effective stake becomes larger, increasing the delegate's impact on the network.
  • The delegate (the subnet validator) then pools all such delegated stake, along with their own stake, and uses this total stake to perform validation tasks in one or more subnets. Daily staking rewards, in proportion to the total stake of the delegate, are credited to the delegate as a result of such validation tasks.
  • After a percentage is deducted from the delegate, these staking rewards are given back to the delegate's nominators.
Delegate take %

The default value of the delegate take is 18%. As a delegate, you can set your own delegate take % by using the btcli root set_delegate_take command. See Setting your delegate take.

  • The above percentage of the staking reward is distributed among the delegate's nominators in proportion to the nominators' staked TAO amount with this delegate.

Example​

Consider the example below:

  • A delegate holds their own TAO of 800.
  • Three nominators delegate their TAO to the delegate as follows:
    • Nominator 1 delegates 100 TAO.
    • Nominator 2 delegates 70 TAO.
    • Nominator 3 delegates 30 TAO.
  • The effective stake of the delegate is 1000 TAO (100+70+30 of the delegated TAO plus their own 800 TAO), comprising of 80% of the delegate's own and the remaining 20% from the nominators.
  • Finally, the individual nominator contributions of the total delegated TAO are as follows:
    • Nominator 1 contributes 50% of total delegated TAO (i.e., 100/(100+70+30)).
    • Nominator 2 contributes 35% of the total delegated TAO.
    • Nominator 3 contributes 15% of the total delegated TAO.
Delegate exampleDelegate example

When the staking dividends are received, the dividends are shared in the following way (see the above picture):

  • The delegate would keep 80% of the dividends, based on their 80% proportion of the total stake (0.8).
  • In addition, the delegate would keep 18% of the dividends earned on the delegated stake (the delegated stake is 20%). This is the delegate's take %.
  • As a result:
    • Total dividends to the delegate are: 0.8 + 0.2*0.18=0.836 of the received dividends.
    • Each nominator receives the following portions of the received dividends, based on their contribution percentages:
      • Nominator 1 receives: (1-0.8)*(1-0.18)*50% = 0.082.
      • Nominoator 2 receives: (1-0.8)*(1-0.18)*35% = 0.0574.
      • Nominator 3 receives: (1-0.8)*(1-0.18)*15% = 0.0246.
A nominator is a delegating authority

A nominator is the same as a delegating authority. Typically, a nominator is an owner of TAO funds who wants to invest in the Bittensor network without performing any validating tasks.

Delegate examples​

Becoming a delegate​

If you are a registered subnet validator, you can become a delegate. To become a delegate:

  1. You must make your hotkey available for the nominators.
  2. You must provide and sign your delegate information.

The nominators will then delegate their TAO to this hotkey, i.e., the nominators will use your delegate hotkey as a wallet destination for their delegated TAO transfers.

Step 1: Nominate yourself as a delegate​

Run the below command (for self-nominating as a delegate):

btcli root nominate --wallet.name <my_coldkey> --wallet.hotkey <my_hotkey>

Example:

btcli root nominate --wallet.name test-coldkey --wallet.hotkey test-hotkey

Step 2: Provide your delegate information​

Next, provide your delegate information, such as your delegate name, URL, and description. This information will then be available in the list of active delegates, for example, when a nominator runs btcli root list_delegates to see available delegates.

To provide and sign this information, follow the instructions on this Bittensor Delegates repo.

Setting your delegate take​

As a delegate, you can set your delegate percentage by running the below command:

btcli root set_delegate_take --wallet.name <my_coldkey> --wallet.hotkey <my_hotkey> --take <floating point number between 0 and 1>

Example:

btcli root set_delegate_take --wallet.name test-coldkey --wallet.hotkey test-hotkey --take 0.1

where the value for the --take option is a floating point number between 0 and 1. In the above example, --take 0.1 sets the delegate take to 10%.

Nominator examples​

Viewing available delegates​

If you are looking for trusted delegate(s) to whom you can delegate your funds, start by seeing a list of already active delegates on the Bittensor network. Run the below command on your terminal:

btcli root list_delegates

You will get an output like this (click on the image to zoom):

List Delegates

See below for an explanation of the column headings in the above terminal output:

ColumnMeaning
INDEXDelegates with a larger total stake are higher on the list.
DELEGATEThe name of the delegate. Click on the name to visit the delegate website. It only shows if the delegate has registered.
SS58The SS58 hotkey of the delegate.
NOMINATORSThe number of nominators, i.e., delegators, who have delegated to this delegate. This is also the number of unique cold keys (i.e., number of nominators) nominated to this hotkey (i.e., to this delegate).
DELEGATE STAKE(τ)The amount of the delegate's own stake (not the TAO delegated from any nominators). This is the amount of stake that the delegate-owned coldkey has delegated to this delegate's hotkey (distinct from TAO delegated from others).
TOTAL STAKE(τ)The total amount of stake delegated to this delegator's hotkey.
CHANGE/(4h)The percent change in the total stake delegated to this delegate within the past 4 hours.
VPERMITShows the subnets for which the delegate holds the validator permits.
TAKEShows the delegate take percentage.
NOMINATOR/(24h)/kτStake reward distributed to this delegate's nominators within the past 24-hour period (per 1000 TAO).
DELEGATE/(24h)Stake reward cut taken by this delegate within the past 24 hours.
DescA description of the delegate.

Delegating tao​

The below command will show a list of delegates sorted by their total stake. Select a delegate from this list to whom you can send your stake.

btcli root delegate

Output:

INDEX DELEGATE SS58          NOMINATORS   DELEGATE STAKE(τ)    TOTAL STAKE(τ)    CHANGE/(4h)   VPERMIT     TAKE     NOMINATOR/(24h)/kτ    DELEGATE/(24h)   Desc
0              5GTMADbd...   0            τ0.000000000         τ0.000000000      NA            [0, 1]      18.0%    τ0.000                τ0.000

Enter delegate index: 0
Enter wallet name (default):
Stake all Tao from account: 'default'? [y/n]: y
Enter password to unlock key:
Do you want to delegate:
  amount: τ120,999.999999000
  to: 5GTMADb *** 39Gp
 default: 5CzJxoM8 *** oRD [y/n]: y
✅ Finalized
Balance:
  τ121,000.000000000 ➡ τ0.000001000
Stake:
  τ0.000000000 ➡ τ120,999.999999000

Show your delegations​

To show all your previously made delegations:

tip

Use --all option to show delegations across all your wallets.

btcli root my_delegates

Output:

Wallet    OWNER  SS58         Delegation       τ/24h    NOMS   OWNER STAKE(τ)     TOTAL STAKE(τ)    SUBNETS    VPERMIT      24h/kτ     Desc
owner            5GTMADbd...  τ120,999.9999    τ0.000   1      τ0.000000000       τ120,999.9999     [0, 1]     ['', '*']    0.0

Total delegated Tao: τ120,999.999999000