DelegateAdded

Event Re-added v101 → v127, v133 → v219, v233 → v247, v252 → v265, v273 → v277, v290 → current #30

Emitted when a hotkey becomes a delegate (validator accepting external stake ).

Useful for: validatorsstakersdelegatorsanalytics

The Big Picture

Delegation is how TAO holders can earn rewards without running infrastructure. Delegates (validators) do the work of validating subnets, and share their earnings with delegators who stake to them. The delegate keeps a 'take' (commission), and delegators get the rest proportional to their stake. This event marks a hotkey opening for business.

Why This Matters

Becoming a delegate is a business decision. You're saying 'I'll validate well, and you can profit from my work by staking to me.' More delegated stake means more voting power and potentially higher emissions - but you're also taking on responsibility to your delegators.

Example Scenario

You've been running a successful validator on subnet 1. You call become_delegate and DelegateAdded fires with your hotkey. Now other TAO holders can stake to you. You set a competitive 10% take rate. Delegators stake 10,000 TAO to you. When you earn 100 TAO in emissions, you keep 10 TAO (your take) and delegators share the remaining 90 TAO.

Common Questions

What's a good take rate?: Market competitive rates range from 5-20%. Lower take attracts more delegators, but means less profit per emission. Check what other successful delegates charge.
Can I change my take rate later?: Yes, but increases are rate-limited to protect delegators. You can decrease immediately but must wait to increase. This prevents bait-and-switch tactics.
What do I owe my delegators?: You should validate honestly and consistently. If you stop validating or perform poorly, your delegators lose out. Many delegates publish uptime stats and communicate with their delegator community.

Use Cases

Launch your validator business - start accepting delegated stake
Discover new validators to delegate to
Track validator ecosystem growth
Build validator comparison tools

How to Use This Event

→ Subscribe to discover new delegates to consider
→ Index to build delegate comparison dashboards
→ Track when competitors become delegates

From Chain Metadata

a hotkey has become a delegate.

Part of: Delegation

Triggers

Emitted by

become_delegate

Preconditions

Hotkey is not already a delegate
Hotkey is registered on at least one subnet
Caller owns the hotkey (matching coldkey)

Effects

Storage Modified

Delegates

Postconditions

Hotkey marked as delegate in Delegates storage
Default take rate set (usually from InitialDefaultTake)

Side Effects

Delegate can now receive stake from any coldkey
Delegate visible in public delegate registry

Event Data

#	Name	Type	Description
0	arg0 → coldkey	AccountId	Coldkey that was delegated from (hex -> SS58)
1	arg1 → hotkey	AccountId	Hotkey receiving delegation (hex -> SS58)
2	arg2 → amount	u16	Amount delegated (RAO)

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 });

// Subscribe to DelegateAdded events
api.query.system.events((events) => {
  events
    .filter(({ event }) =>
      event.section === stringCamelCase("SubtensorModule") &&
      event.method === "DelegateAdded"
    )
    .forEach(({ event }) => {
      console.log("DelegateAdded:", event.data.toHuman());
    });
});

Version History

Version:

v101 block 1 3 args

v133 block 1,404,224 3 args

v233 block 4,920,350 3 args

v252 block 5,163,656 3 args

v273 block 5,659,032 3 args

v290 block 5,947,548 3 args Current

Runtime Info

View Source

Pallet Index: 7
Event Index: 30
First Version: v101
Current Version: v393

Back to SubtensorModule Events