Testnet & wallets

Fact	Value
Network	Bittensor testnet (`wss://test.finney.opentensor.ai:443`)
Subnet	netuid 566
Tempo	360 blocks (epoch = 361)
Validator	UID 0, the subnet owner's hotkey — the only validator in the pilot
Registration cost	0.0005 test TAO at last registration; check the live burn before you register

#The one rule that decides whether you get paid

Your miner's coldkey must be different from the subnet owner's coldkey, and your hotkey must not be one of the owner's hotkeys. Bittensor excludes owner-associated miners from mining rewards: incentive is shown but burned. This was measured the hard way during the pilot — the owner-registered UID 1 served work and received nothing.

The validator enforces the same rule: owner-associated recipients are rejected before planning and re-checked before signing.

#Register a hotkey

Create a fresh wallet with its own coldkey and a hotkey, fund it with a little test TAO, and register on 566. With the Bittensor CLI:

bash

btcli wallet create --wallet.name my-everyframe-miner --wallet.hotkey miner
btcli subnet register --netuid 566 --network test \
  --wallet.name my-everyframe-miner --wallet.hotkey miner
btcli subnet metagraph --netuid 566 --network test

Test TAO comes from the testnet faucet or from the operator on request. Registration is a one-time on-chain transaction; the first read after the receipt may lag a block behind, so confirm with a second finalized read before sending your hotkey to the operator.

Everyframe's own independent test miner is a worked example: UID 2, registered 15 September 2026, funded with 0.02 test TAO, registration and fees totalling about 0.0028 test TAO.

#Prove ownership

The operator verifies that you control the hotkey before issuing an invitation. Expect to be asked to sign a fresh challenge with the hotkey — never to hand over a seed, mnemonic or key file. The invitation then carries ownershipVerifiedByOperator: true and binds that hotkey to your miner ID for good; renewal cannot switch it.

#Custody

Keep the coldkey offline where you can. The hotkey only needs to exist on the chain; the miner VM never holds it. If you run several miners, give each its own hotkey and invitation. One invitation maps to exactly one VM.

#Reading the chain yourself

Metagraph and weights: btcli subnet metagraph --netuid 566 --network test, or any testnet explorer.
Your alpha balance: btcli wallet overview --network test.
The reveal of each epoch's weights lands a round after commit; the dashboard's Rewards view shows the last verified vector.