Federated Miner Guide
Complete guide for becoming a federated miner on Cartha — no CLI required, everything is done through the web interface.
Web Interface: https://cartha.finance
Overview
Federated miners provide liquidity by depositing USDC into a principal miner's vault. You do not need to register on the Bittensor subnet or run any CLI tools. All you need is an EVM wallet, USDC on Base, and a principal miner to lock through.
What you'll do:
Set up an EVM wallet on Base with ETH and USDC
Connect to Cartha and lock funds via "Become an LP"
Monitor your position and the principal miner's performance
Claim ALPHA rewards to a Bittensor coldkey
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
✅ EVM wallet installed (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rabby, etc.)
✅ Base Mainnet network added to your wallet
✅ Base ETH in your wallet (for gas fees)
✅ Base USDC in your wallet (for liquidity provision)
You do not need a Bittensor wallet, Python, or any CLI tools to lock funds. You will only need a Bittensor coldkey later when claiming ALPHA rewards.
Step 1: Set Up Your Wallet
Add Base Mainnet to Your Wallet
If Base isn't already in your wallet, add it manually:
Quick Add: Visit Chainlist, search for "Base", and click "Add to MetaMask".
Get ETH (for gas fees)
You'll need a small amount of ETH on Base for transaction gas. You can:
Bridge ETH from Ethereum mainnet using the Base Bridge
Transfer from a centralized exchange that supports Base withdrawals (Coinbase, Binance, etc.)
Get USDC (for liquidity)
You'll need USDC on Base for your deposit. You can:
Bridge USDC from Ethereum mainnet using the Base Bridge
Transfer from a centralized exchange that supports Base USDC withdrawals
Step 2: Lock Funds via "Become an LP"
Connect Your Wallet
Go to https://cartha.finance
Click "Connect Wallet" in the top right corner and select your wallet provider
Make sure you're connected to Base Mainnet network
Navigate to "Become an LP"
Click "Become an LP" in the left navigation bar
Enter Your Lock Details
Enter the Principal Miner's Hotkey — This is the SS58 address of the principal miner you want to lock through (a 48-character string starting with
5). You can find principal miners on the Leaderboard or through community channels.
The system will verify the hotkey is registered on the subnet.
Select a Pool — Choose which trading pair you want to provide liquidity for (BTC/USD, ETH/USD, etc.)
Enter Amount — Specify how much USDC you want to lock (minimum 100,000 USDC)
Set Lock Duration — Choose how many days to lock your funds (minimum 7 days, maximum 365 days). Longer lock periods increase your deposit score and share of ALPHA rewards.
Execute the Transaction
Request Signature & Continue — Click the button to proceed
Approve USDC — First, approve the vault contract to spend your USDC. Confirm in your wallet (requires a small gas fee in ETH).
Lock Position — After approval, confirm the second transaction to lock your USDC in the vault.
Verify Your Position
Wait for confirmation — It may take 30 seconds to 5 minutes for the position to be processed by the verifier.
View your position — Navigate to "My Positions" in the sidebar to see your active lock.
You'll see:
Pool ID and trading pair
Principal miner hotkey
Lock status
Initially locked amount and total committed
Lock expiration date
Options to Extend or Top Up your position
Step 3: Principal Miner Dashboard
Once your funds are locked, you can monitor your principal miner's performance and your own rewards from the Principal Miners page.
Accessing the Dashboard
Click "Principal Miners" in the left navigation bar
The dashboard shows the General Tensor principal miner you're federated under
Dashboard Overview
The top cards give you a quick summary:
Federated Miners
How many unique addresses are currently earning under this principal miner
Commission Rate
The percentage the principal miner takes from federated miner rewards (e.g., 3.0%)
ALPHA Distributed
Total net ALPHA distributed to all miners under this hotkey to date
Claims Paid
Number of ALPHA claim transactions that have been completed
Miner Performance
The Miner Performance section shows earnings over two time windows:
Last 24 Hours — ALPHA earned, estimated TAO/USD value, number of sweeps, and daily rate (ALPHA/day)
Last 7 Days — Same metrics over a weekly window
This helps you track how actively the principal miner is earning and whether performance is consistent.
Your Earnings Summary
Below the performance section, you'll see your personal earnings:
Total Earned — All ALPHA you've accumulated (all time)
Total Claimed — ALPHA you've already withdrawn
Available to Claim — ALPHA ready to be claimed right now
The green "Claim Rewards" button lets you withdraw your available ALPHA.
Recent Reward Entries
A table showing your most recent ALPHA rewards from epoch sweeps:
Date
When the reward was swept
Gross
Total ALPHA amount before commission
Commission
Commission taken (shows "0 (home)" for the principal miner's own position)
Net Reward
ALPHA you actually receive
Share
Your percentage share of the total pool rewards
Claim History
A record of all your past reward claims showing date, amount, Bittensor coldkey used, status (Completed/Pending), and transaction hash.
Federated Miner List
Click "View Federated Miners" to expand the list of all addresses earning under this principal miner.
Each entry shows:
Miner
Position identifier (Miner #1, #2, etc.) with a "You" badge on your own position
Type
Home (principal miner's own position) or Guest (federated miner)
Share
Your percentage share of the pool
Total Earned
ALPHA earned by this position
Claimed
ALPHA already claimed
Available
ALPHA available to claim
Step 4: Claim ALPHA Rewards
To claim your ALPHA rewards, you need a Bittensor coldkey (SS58 address) — this is where the ALPHA tokens will be sent on the Bittensor network.
Get a Bittensor Wallet
If you don't already have a Bittensor wallet, you can create one using either method:
Option 1: Talisman Browser Extension (Recommended for non-technical users)
Talisman is a browser extension wallet that supports Bittensor (Substrate) accounts.
Install the Talisman extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge
Create a new wallet and save your recovery phrase securely
Add a Bittensor account (Substrate-based)
Copy your coldkey SS58 address (starts with
5)
Option 2: Bittensor CLI (btcli)
If you prefer the command line:
This creates both a coldkey and hotkey. Save your mnemonic phrase — you cannot recover your wallet without it.
For more details, see the Bittensor CLI documentation.
Claiming Your Rewards
Navigate to the "Principal Miners" page
Scroll down to your earnings summary and click the green "Claim Rewards" button
The Claim Rewards modal will appear showing your available ALPHA balance
Enter the amount of ALPHA you want to claim (or click MAX for the full available balance)
Paste your Bittensor coldkey (SS58 address) — this is where the ALPHA will be transferred on the Bittensor network
Click "Sign & Claim" — you'll be prompted to sign a message with your connected EVM wallet to verify ownership
Once the signature is confirmed, you'll see a "Claim Successful" confirmation showing the Claim ID, amount, recipient coldkey, and transaction hash.
Click "Done" to close the modal. You can track all your claims in the Claim History section on the dashboard.
Managing Your Position
Top Up (Add More USDC)
Go to "My Positions"
Click "Top Up" on your position
Enter the additional USDC amount
Confirm the transaction
Extend Lock Duration
Go to "My Positions"
Click "Extend" on your position
Choose a new (longer) lock duration
Confirm the transaction
Extending your lock increases your deposit score, which means a larger share of ALPHA emissions.
Withdraw After Expiry
Once your lock period and cooldown have both passed, your position will show as Expired with a "Ready to withdraw" status.
Go to "My Positions"
Your expired position will display the status, withdrawable amount, and a "Withdraw" button
Click "Withdraw" — a confirmation modal will appear showing:
Pool and lock duration
Expiration date and status
Total committed and the amount you will receive
Cooldown status (must show Ready)
Position owner and connected wallet match verification
Click "Confirm Full Withdrawal" and approve the transaction in your wallet
Your USDC will be returned to your connected EVM wallet
Note: There is a mandatory 7-day cooldown from the initial lock start. You can only withdraw after both the lock period and cooldown have passed. See Fees & Rewards for details.
Multiple Positions
✅ Same hotkey + Same pool + Different EVM wallet → Creates a separate position
❌ Same hotkey + Same pool + Same EVM wallet → Use "Top Up" instead
Important Notes
Rewards & Weekly Epochs
ALPHA emissions: Based on your deposit score (time × amount × pool weight)
Trading fees: 50% of trading fees go to LPs, proportional to locked USDC
Cartha operates on a weekly epoch cycle: Friday 00:00 UTC → Thursday 23:59 UTC
Best Practice: Lock by Thursday 23:00 UTC to ensure inclusion in the next epoch
The indexer needs up to 15 minutes to detect your position — give yourself buffer time
Positions locked after Friday 00:00 UTC go into the following week's epoch
📘 Learn more: See Weekly Epochs for a complete guide on epoch timing and how rewards are calculated.
Transaction Requirements
✅ Must be connected to Base Mainnet network
✅ Need ETH for gas fees
✅ Need USDC in your wallet
✅ Two transactions required for locking: Approve + Lock
Available Pools
Network: Base Mainnet (Chain ID: 8453)
Troubleshooting
"Transaction failed" in wallet
Check Network: Make sure you're on Base Mainnet (Chain ID: 8453)
Check Gas: Ensure you have enough ETH for gas fees
Check USDC Balance: Ensure you have enough USDC
Check Approval: Make sure the approval transaction completed before locking
Wait and Retry: Network congestion may cause delays
Position not showing after locking
Wait 30 seconds to 5 minutes for the verifier to process your lock
Click the Refresh button on the "My Positions" page
If it still doesn't appear after 5 minutes, check the transaction on BaseScan
"Position already exists"
Use the Top Up button on "My Positions" to add more USDC to your existing position
Use the Extend button to increase lock duration
Or use a different EVM wallet to create a separate position
Claim not processing
Ensure you entered a valid Bittensor coldkey (SS58 address starting with
5)Check that the EVM signature was completed successfully
Track claim status in the Claim History section on the Principal Miners dashboard
Quick Start Checklist
Resources
Federated Miners (Participants) — Understanding the federated miner role, risks, and economics
Weekly Epochs — How epoch timing and rewards work
Fees & Rewards — Full breakdown of fee and emission distribution
FAQ — Common questions
Support
Discord: https://discord.gg/zGkW2kTsGM
Website: https://cartha.finance
Email: [email protected]
Ready to get started? Visit https://cartha.finance and start earning as a federated miner today!
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