Summary
This proposal seeks to adjust the standard emission distribution parameters governing all Bittensor subnets. Specifically, BIP-023 reallocates 3 percentage points from miner emissions to the combined validator and staker rewards pool. The revised split — Miners: 38%, Validators + Stakers: 44%, Subnet Owner: 18% — is designed to better incentivize long-term network participation and high-quality validation.
The change is consistent with the direction established by the Taoflow transition in November 2025, which shifted emission injection to reward subnets that attract genuine, sustained TAO inflows. Complementing that with a staker-friendly distribution split further reinforces the network's long-term health.
Current vs. Proposed Distribution
Motivation
Why Shift Rewards Toward Validators & Stakers?
Since the launch of Dynamic TAO and the subsequent Taoflow upgrade, the network has observed that emission injection now rewards subnets based on net TAO inflows — meaning subnets that attract sustained staking from the community receive more TAO emissions. However, the internal distribution of those emissions within each subnet has remained unchanged since Bittensor's original parameterization.
The current 41/41/18 split was designed during an era where mining was the primary driver of network value. Today, validators play a crucial coordination role through Yuma Consensus, and TAO stakers provide the liquidity signal that now determines subnet-level emission flows. The existing split under-rewards these critical participants relative to their contribution.
Over the past 90 days, on-chain data indicates that validator and staker churn has been a leading indicator of subnet performance degradation. Increasing the emission share for this cohort creates a direct economic incentive to remain staked — reducing volatility in subnet liquidity pools and improving the quality of the Taoflow signal.
The 3-point reallocation is intentionally conservative. It shifts incentives without destabilizing existing miner economics, preserving the competitive mining environment that drives commodity production across Bittensor's 64+ active subnets.
Technical Specification
On-Chain Parameter Changes
If approved, the Triumvirate will submit the following runtime storage mutation via SubtensorModule.sudo_set_weights_version_key and the respective emission constants. The change affects all subnets uniformly and takes effect at the block immediately following closure of this proposal.
| Parameter | Current Value | Proposed Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| MinerEmissionsTake | 0.41 (41%) | 0.38 (38%) | −3 pp |
| ValidatorEmissionsTake | 0.41 (41%) | 0.44 (44%) | +3 pp |
| SubnetOwnerCut | 0.18 (18%) | 0.18 (18%) | No change |
| EffectiveBlock | — | ~4,721,400 | ≈ 7 days post-approval |
The alpha distributed to stakers follows the formula established in the Taoflow upgrade: validators receive their configured take, and the remaining alpha is split proportionally between TAO stakers (on the root subnet) and alpha stakers (on each mining subnet), weighted by the global TAO weight parameter (currently 18%).
Timeline
Security Considerations
Risks & Mitigations
The primary risk of this proposal is reduced miner revenue, which may decrease the economic attractiveness of running miners on lower-emission subnets. However, because miner revenue is ultimately denominated in alpha tokens — whose value is determined by subnet liquidity pools — improved staker retention may partially offset the reduced emission percentage through stronger alpha price support.
This proposal does not affect the FlowCutoff, EMA smoothing factor, or power exponent (p) used in the Taoflow injection formula. It is purely a distribution-layer change and does not alter the injection logic governing how total TAO is allocated across subnets.
A 90-day post-implementation review window is recommended. If miner participation drops measurably on three or more subnets within that window, the Triumvirate commits to submitting a corrective proposal restoring the original parameters.