Protocol documentationLast revised 03 Aug 2026

Build the artifact.
Prove the history.

Bittensor Relics is a non-EVM protocol for binding exact on-chain media to a finalized subnet-alpha burn. This manual explains what the chain proves, what the index derives, and what the proposed subnet must verify.

Enter the Forge →Read the Blackpaper

NetworkTestnet only

ExecutionNative SS58

MediaExact WebP bytes

IndexerPrimary live / replay pending

Experimental software. Never risk TAO you cannot afford to lose. The Forge is pinned to testnet. One public indexer is live, but independent replay quorum and marketplace payment are not.

01 / Architecture

One chain of evidence. Three layers of interpretation.

01Wallet

Signs intent

The creator reviews subnet, TAO, quote, price limit, fee, manifest, and exact image size.

02Subtensor

Finalizes facts

The chain records signer, atomic execution, TAO input, alpha burned, fee, and inscription bytes.

03Relics index

Derives state

Strict rules calculate the canonical ID, number, owner, transfers, and rejection history.

04Proof network

Replicates answers

Proposed miners replay history; validators challenge their commitments; the dapp requires quorum.

Chain authority

Finality, transaction order, execution, signer, TAO movement, alpha events, and remark bytes.

Protocol authority

Qualification rules, canonical IDs, ordinal numbers, ownership nonces, transfers, and listings.

Never proven

02 / Mint transaction

Buy, Burn, and Inscribe under one signature.

Canonical v1 callAtomic · two inner calls · exact order

Utility.batch_all([
  SubtensorModule.add_stake_burn(
    subnet_owner_hotkey,
    netuid,
    tao_amount,
    Some(maximum_ending_spot_price)
  ),
  System.remark_with_event(relic_payload)
])

BuyTAO enters one selected subnet pool.

The fresh runtime quote estimates alpha output after the pool fee and price impact.

BurnThe acquired alpha stake is immediately burned.

The finalized AlphaBurned event—not the preview—is the canonical amount.

InscribeThe manifest and optional image share the same atomic outcome.

If either call fails, the entire batch rolls back and no Relic exists.

Acceptance requires

Finalized block
ExtrinsicSuccess
BatchCompleted
AddStakeBurn
AlphaBurned
Remarked
TransactionFeePaid
Matching signer, hotkey, netuid, generation, amount, and hash

03 / On-chain media

The image is transaction data—not a gateway promise.

Binary envelope

4 bytesBRI1 magic

4 bytesManifest length

N bytesStrict UTF-8 JSON

RemainderExact WebP bytes

The browser converts PNG, JPEG, or WebP input into a small passive WebP before the wallet signs. The manifest commits the SHA-256 hash, byte length, dimensions, subnet generation, purpose, content policy, and optional inscription.

The reference forge does not upload canonical media to AWS, IPFS, Arweave, or Vercel. Any thumbnail or miner response is a replaceable cache and must match the finalized chain bytes.

JSON remark≤ 2,048 B

Full envelope≤ 16,384 B

WebP bytes≤ 12,288 B

Dimensions64–256 px

04 / Future miner queue

Miners prepare the candidate. The creator approves the exact bytes.

Proposed subnet workflow · not live

The production vision moves image preparation into a competitive queue. Miners may optimize an original before inscription, but they can never modify a finalized Relic. The creator keeps final authority: no TAO is committed until the exact candidate image and transaction are reviewed and signed.

01
Upload the original
The creator submits the source image and defines the Relic, subnet, byte limit, and permitted transformation rules.
02
Open a preparation job
The queue publishes a content-addressed task so competing miners work from the same original and requirements.
03
Miners produce candidates
Miners compete to create the best on-chain version within the protocol's dimensions and byte budget while preserving aspect ratio and legibility.
04
Validators verify
Validators check dimensions, encoding, byte length, source and candidate hashes, declared quality rules, content policy, and transaction construction.
05
Preview the exact result
The site displays the exact miner-produced bytes at actual size and enlarged. The preview hash must equal the hash placed in the signed manifest.
06
Approve and sign
The creator chooses a candidate and signs only after reviewing the image, subnet, TAO amount, price limit, fees, burn call, and inscription. Rejection costs no mint TAO.
07
Finalize, index, and archive
The approved bytes are inscribed in finalized chain history. Miners then reconstruct the Relic, preserve its media, and serve proofs to the network.

Immutable boundaryOptimization happens before the signature—never after finalization.

This prevents silent cropping, distortion, or substitution. A miner cannot replace the approved candidate because the signed manifest commits its SHA-256 hash and byte length, and validators reject any mismatch.

Today's testnet Forge prepares the WebP locally in the browser; the live miner preparation queue does not exist yet. This section defines the intended workflow that a future Relics subnet must implement and prove.

05 / Burn economics

The sacrifice is real. The supply claim is not.

Important correction

Buy & Burn is supply-neutral under the current Bittensor runtime.

The operation removes the user's acquired alpha stake and emits a provable burn event, but it does not reduce SubnetAlphaOut. Relics uses Buy & Burn—not the separate recycle path. We therefore make no promise of deflation, reduced issuance, or token appreciation.

What is proven

TAO permanently committed
Selected subnet and generation
Actual alpha burned
Pool fee and execution evidence
Finalized transaction fee

What is variable

Alpha output for a TAO input
Price impact and pool state
Ending spot price
Future subnet value
Market demand for a Relic

The forge targets a TAO amount, not an exact alpha amount. A collection promising “at least 1,000 SCORE burned” needs a future alpha-target quote mode and must verify the finalized event before accepting membership.

06 / Identity & ownership

Chain position makes the Relic. Signed history assigns the owner.

Canonical artifact IDbr1:<full-genesis-hash>:<finalized-block>:<extrinsic-index>

Numbering

Accepted mints receive one global number and one number inside (netuid, subnet_generation). Order follows finalized block number then extrinsic index. Invalid candidates consume no number.

Ownership

The mint signer starts as protocol owner. A valid standalone transfer remark must be signed by the current owner and use the exact next ownership nonce. This prevents replay.

Subnet identity

Netuid alone is insufficient because numbers can be reused after deregistration. Relics binds every mint to NetworkRegisteredAt[netuid].

Marketplace

V1 listings remain discovery-only. A non-EVM ink!/WASM settlement prototype now compiles for future contract-owned v2 Relics, but buying stays locked until it is deployed, tested with public testnet TAO, and independently reviewed.

Verified founding testnet Relic

Shizzy

Block 7,698,721 · Extrinsic 6 · 1 test TAO · 1,035.580333229 SN1 alpha burned · 8,698 on-chain image bytes

Evidence JSON →

07 / Proof network

Miners replay. Validators challenge. The dapp requires agreement.

Miner workProposed

Reconstruct the complete index

Follow finalized blocks
Verify accepted and rejected operations
Preserve exact media
Publish checkpoint commitments
Serve state and history queries

Validator workProposed

Challenge exact public facts

Maintain independent replay
Sample unpredictable checkpoints
Check roots, ownership, and media hashes
Measure freshness and availability
Reject divergence

Gateway rulePrototype

Fail closed without quorum

Query multiple miners
Require identical checkpoint and answer
Never let one fast miner redefine history
Return no consensus when threshold fails

The public Network page is a deterministic three-miner simulation. No Relics subnet, live miners, validator weights, netuid, or emissions exist today. If launched, subnet emissions—not a per-mint user escrow—would compensate miners for the continuous service.

08 / Claim audit

Facts, corrections, and unfinished work.

Verified

The image can live in finalized Subtensor history.

Relics embeds a bounded passive WebP inside remarkWithEvent. The image is not represented by an IPFS, S3, or CDN URL.

Verified

One atomic extrinsic binds the burn and inscription.

Only batchAll(addStakeBurn, remarkWithEvent) qualifies. Failure of either inner call rolls back both operations.

Correction

Buy & Burn does not currently reduce SubnetAlphaOut.

The finalized AlphaBurned event proves the user's economic sacrifice. Current runtime accounting makes this burn supply-neutral, not guaranteed deflation.

Protocol

Relics are transferable, but they are not native Subtensor NFTs.

Ownership is deterministic derived state from signed finalized remarks. Subtensor itself does not expose a Relic asset balance.

Prototype

Miners and validators can reproduce the index.

The three-miner conformance simulation works, but no Relics subnet is registered and no live miner receives emissions today.

Boundary

Marketplace buying is not loss-safe yet.

Listings are signed discovery offers. A payment plus remark batch cannot enforce index-derived ownership, so the public interface does not submit buyer payments.

Creator claim

Collection labels are not verified membership yet.

Version 1 signs a creator-declared label. Authority rules, burn thresholds, mint windows, and supply caps require a future collection declaration.

Boundary

Chain authenticity is not artistic or legal authenticity.

The proof establishes bytes, signer, time, chain position, and burn. It cannot prove originality, copyright, identity, or truth of the depicted event.

09 / API map

Finalized reads only. No endpoint creates chain truth.

MethodPathReturns

GET/api/v1/status

Indexer chain, checkpoint, activation block, and artifact count

GET/api/v1/artifacts

Paginated finalized Relics

GET/api/v1/artifacts/:id

Artifact, burn receipt, owner, and media manifest

GET/api/v1/artifacts/:id/media

Exact verified WebP reconstructed from the chain

GET/api/v1/accounts/:account/artifacts

Current protocol-owned Relics for one SS58 account

GET/api/v1/subnets/:netuid/:generation/artifacts

Relics scoped to one subnet generation

GET/api/v1/operations/:block/:extrinsic

Accepted operation or deterministic rejection

GET/api/v1/listings

Active signed discovery listings; no settlement

The public primary index is live. If its database becomes unavailable, index-backed routes return 503 INDEXER_UNAVAILABLE instead of presenting an empty collection. An independent replay database and live quorum gateway are still pending.

10 / Reference library