burn_alpha

Call v257 → current #102

Permanently burns alpha tokens.

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Used by: stakerssubnet ownersdevelopersvalidators

The Big Picture

burn_alpha permanently destroys Alpha tokens. Unlike recycling (which returns to circulation) or unstaking (which converts to TAO), burning removes Alpha forever. This is deflationary - remaining Alpha becomes relatively more scarce. It's economically irrational for profit-seeking actors but useful for signaling, cleanup, or subnet tokenomics experiments.

Why This Matters

Burning is a permanent sacrifice. You get nothing back - no TAO, no liquidity contribution. Why would anyone do this? Subnet owners might burn to increase scarcity. Individuals might burn dust (too small to unstake profitably). Idealists might burn as a deflationary statement.

Example Scenario

You have 0.0001 Alpha dust from rounding. Unstaking it would cost more in fees than you'd receive. Call burn_alpha(netuid=18, amount=0.0001). The dust is gone - your account is clean, and the Alpha supply is slightly smaller.

Common Questions

Can I recover burned Alpha?
No. Burning is permanent and irreversible. The Alpha is destroyed at the protocol level. There's no 'unburn' function.
Does burning improve Alpha price?
Theoretically yes - less supply with same demand means higher price. In practice, the amounts individuals burn are too small to matter. Only coordinated burns would have noticeable price impact.
Why burn instead of recycle?
Recycling adds to liquidity pool (supply). Burning removes from existence (scarcity). If you want to help the subnet's liquidity, recycle. If you want deflation, burn.

Use Cases

  • Permanently reduce Alpha supply for deflationary effect
  • Signal commitment by destroying value
  • Clean up dust amounts not worth unstaking
  • Experimental tokenomics by subnet owners

From Chain Metadata

Burns alpha from a cold/hot key pair without reducing `AlphaOut`

Input Parameters

#NameTypeDescription
0
hotkey
AccountId Hot wallet address (active operations) (hex -> SS58)
1
amount
u64 Amount in RAO (÷10⁹ for TAO) (RAO -> TAO (/ 10^9))
2
netuid
u16 Subnet/network identifier (0-65535)

Permissions

Origin
Signed
Required Role
Any

Permission data inferred from metadata. May be incomplete.

Requirements

  • Account has alpha to burn
  • Burn amount specified

Effects

Events Emitted

AlphaBurned

Postconditions

  • Alpha permanently removed from existence
  • Total Alpha supply reduced
  • Does not affect AlphaOut (doesn't improve liquidity)

Side Effects

  • Deflationary for subnet token
  • May increase remaining Alpha's relative value

Code Examples

import { ApiPromise, WsProvider } from "@polkadot/api";
import { stringCamelCase } from "@polkadot/util";

const provider = new WsProvider("wss://entrypoint-finney.opentensor.ai:443");
const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });

// Build burn_alpha call
const hotkey = "5GrwvaEF5zXb26Fz9rcQpDWS57CtERHpNehXCPcNoHGKutQY";
const amount = 1_000_000_000n;
const netuid = 1;

const call = api.tx[stringCamelCase("SubtensorModule")][stringCamelCase("burn_alpha")](
  hotkey,
  amount,
  netuid
);

On-Chain Activity

Usage Frequency
●●○○○○ Low 1K–10K extrinsics

Infrequent

#46 most used call

Success Rate Near-certain

Over 95% of submissions succeed

As of block 7,429,232

Runtime Info

View Source
Pallet Index
7
Call Index
102
First Version
v257
Current Version
v393
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