Miner Guide

Complete guide for becoming a liquidity provider (miner) on Cartha testnet using the web interface.

Web Interface: https://cartha.finance

CLI Repository (for registration only): cartha-cli

Overview

Becoming a miner on Cartha testnet involves two main steps:

1. Register your hotkey to the Bittensor subnet (requires CLI)

2. Lock USDC funds to provide liquidity (done via web interface)

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• ✅ Bittensor wallet set up (coldkey + hotkey)

• ✅ MetaMask (or other EVM wallet) installed

• ✅ Base Sepolia network added to MetaMask

• ✅ Testnet ETH in your wallet (for gas fees)

• ✅ Testnet USDC in your wallet (get from faucet)

• ✅ Python 3.11 installed (for CLI registration only)

• ✅ Testnet TAO in your Bittensor wallet (for registration)

Step 1: Get Testnet Tokens

Add Base Sepolia Network to MetaMask

1. Open MetaMask and click the network dropdown

2. Click "Add Network" or "Add a network manually"

3. Enter the following details:

   Network Name: Base Sepolia
   RPC URL: https://sepolia.base.org
   Chain ID: 84532
   Currency Symbol: ETH
   Block Explorer URL: https://sepolia.basescan.org

4. Click "Save" and switch to Base Sepolia network

Quick Add (MetaMask):

You can also use the Chainlist website:

1. Visit https://chainlist.org/

2. Search for "Base Sepolia"

3. Click "Connect Wallet" and approve the connection

4. Click "Add to MetaMask" and confirm

Get Testnet ETH (for gas fees)

• Visit: https://console.optimism.io/faucet

• Select "Base Sepolia" network

• Connect wallet and request tokens

• Wait a few minutes for the transaction to complete

Get Testnet USDC (for liquidity)

Visit the Cartha faucet to claim testnet USDC:

1. Go to https://cartha.finance

Landing Page

1. Click on "Faucet" in the navigation bar

Faucet Navigation

1. Connect your wallet - Click "Connect Wallet" and make sure you're connected to Base Sepolia network

Connect Wallet

1. Click "Claim USDC" to receive testnet tokens

Claim USDC

• You'll receive 1,000,000 testnet USDC per claim

• Cooldown: 24 hours between claims (per wallet address)

Get Testnet TAO (for registration)

• Visit: https://app.minersunion.ai/testnet-faucet

• Request testnet TAO to your Bittensor wallet

Step 2: Register Your Hotkey (CLI Required)

To participate as a miner, you need to register your Bittensor hotkey to the Cartha subnet. This step requires the Cartha CLI.

Install Cartha CLI

pip install cartha-cli

Verify the installation:

cartha --help

Configure Environment (Optional)

# Optional: Set testnet verifier URL
export CARTHA_VERIFIER_URL="https://cartha-verifier-826542474079.us-central1.run.app"

# Optional: Bittensor network configuration
export CARTHA_NETWORK="test"
export CARTHA_NETUID=78

Register to Subnet

Interactive mode (recommended):

cartha miner register --network test

The CLI will prompt you for your wallet names.

Or with all arguments:

cartha miner register --wallet-name <coldkey> --wallet-hotkey <hotkey> --network test

Example:

cartha miner register -w cold -wh hot -n test

This will:

• Register your hotkey to subnet 78 (testnet)

• Fetch your slot UID

• Display your registration details

Important: Save the output, especially your hotkey SS58 address - you'll need it for locking funds via the web interface.

Step 3: Lock Funds via Web Interface

Now that your hotkey is registered, you can lock USDC funds to provide liquidity using the Cartha web interface.

Navigate to "Become an LP"

1. Go to https://cartha.finance

2. Click on "Become an LP" in the navigation bar

Become an LP Navigation

1. You'll see the Federated Miners option with a lock flow form on the right

Enter Your Miner Details

Note: Make sure your wallet is still connected to Base Sepolia network (you connected it earlier during the faucet step).

1. Enter your Principal Miner Hotkey - This is the SS58 address from your registration in Step 2

Paste Hotkey

The system will verify your hotkey is registered on the subnet (UID: 212 shown means registered).

1. Select a Pool - Choose which trading pair you want to provide liquidity for (BTC/USD, ETH/USD, etc.)

Select Pool

1. Enter Amount - Specify how much USDC you want to lock (e.g., 100000 USDC)

Enter Amount

1. Set Lock Duration - Choose how many days to lock your funds (minimum 7 days, maximum 365 days)

Enter Lock Days

Execute Transaction

1. Request Signature & Continue - Click the button to proceed

Continue

1. Approve USDC - First, you need to approve the vault contract to spend your USDC

Approve USDC

Approve the transaction in your wallet (this requires gas fees in ETH).

1. Lock Position - After approval, the second transaction will lock your USDC in the vault

Check Lock Position

Confirm the lock transaction in your wallet.

Verify Your Position

1. Wait for confirmation - It may take 30 seconds to 5 minutes for the position to be processed

Wait for Confirmation

1. View your positions - Navigate to "My Positions" to see your active locks

My Positions

You'll see:

• Pool ID and trading pair

• Principal Miner hotkey

• Lock status

• Initially locked amount

• Total committed amount

• Lock expiration date

• Options to Extend or Top Up your position

Important Notes

Transaction Requirements:

• ✅ Must be connected to Base Sepolia network

• ✅ Need testnet ETH for gas fees

• ✅ Need testnet USDC in your wallet

• ✅ Two transactions required: Approve + Lock

Managing Positions:

• Visit My Positions to view all your locks

• Use "Extend" to increase lock duration

• Use "Top Up" to add more USDC to existing position

Multiple Positions:

• ✅ Same hotkey + Same pool + Different EVM wallet → Creates separate position

• ❌ Same hotkey + Same pool + Same EVM wallet → Use "Top Up" instead

Rewards:

• Rewards are distributed weekly based on your locked position

• Lock before the epoch ends to be included in the next reward cycle

• Longer lock periods may receive higher rewards

Step 4: Check Your Miner Status (Optional)

You can verify your miner status using the CLI or by viewing "My Positions" on the web interface.

Via Web Interface (Recommended)

Simply visit https://cartha.finance/positions to see all your active positions.

Via CLI

# Interactive mode
cartha miner status

# Or with arguments
cartha miner status --wallet-name <coldkey> --wallet-hotkey <hotkey> --network test

This shows:

• Miner state and pool information

• All active pools with amounts and expiration dates

• Days remaining countdown

• Registration status

Available Testnet Pools

Pool Name	Vault Address
BTC/USD	0x471D86764B7F99b894ee38FcD3cEFF6EAB321b69
ETH/USD	0xdB74B44957A71c95406C316f8d3c5571FA588248
EUR/USD	0x3C4dAfAC827140B8a031d994b7e06A25B9f27BAD

Network: Base Sepolia (Chain ID: 84532)

You can select any of these pools when locking funds via the web interface. The pool selection is handled automatically in the UI.

Common CLI Commands (Reference)

# Register to subnet (required once)
cartha miner register --wallet-name <coldkey> --wallet-hotkey <hotkey> --network test

# Check miner status
cartha miner status --wallet-name <coldkey> --wallet-hotkey <hotkey> --network test

# View help
cartha --help
cartha miner --help

Note: Locking funds is now done via the web interface at https://cartha.finance, not through CLI.

Troubleshooting

"Hotkey not registered" or "Invalid hotkey"

Problem: Hotkey is not registered on the subnet

Solution:

• Register your hotkey first using cartha miner register --network test

• Verify you're using the correct network (test) and netuid (78)

• Check that you have testnet TAO in your Bittensor wallet

• Make sure you're entering the correct SS58 address in the web interface

"Transaction failed" in MetaMask

Problem: Approval or lock transaction failed

Solution:

• Check Network: Make sure you're on Base Sepolia network (Chain ID: 84532)

• Check Gas: Ensure you have enough testnet ETH for gas fees

• Check USDC Balance: Ensure you have enough testnet USDC in your wallet

• Check Approval: Make sure the first approval transaction completed successfully

• Wait and Retry: Base Sepolia may be slower than mainnet - wait a bit and retry

"Insufficient funds" or "Not enough ETH"

Problem: Don't have enough testnet ETH for gas

Solution:

• Visit https://console.optimism.io/faucet

• Select "Base Sepolia" network

• Request testnet ETH to your wallet address

• Wait a few minutes for the transaction to complete

• Retry your transaction

"USDC balance is zero" or "No USDC found"

Problem: Don't have testnet USDC tokens

Solution:

• Visit the Cartha faucet at https://cartha.finance/faucet

• Connect your wallet and claim 1,000,000 testnet USDC

• Cooldown: 24 hours between claims per wallet

• Verify receipt on BaseScan Sepolia

"Position already exists"

Problem: You're trying to create a duplicate position with the same hotkey, pool, and wallet

Solution:

• Use the Top Up button on the "My Positions" page to add more USDC to your existing position

• Use the Extend button to increase the lock duration

• Or use a different EVM wallet address to create a separate position

"Wallet not connected" or "Wrong network"

Problem: Your wallet is not connected or on the wrong network

Solution:

1. Click "Connect Wallet" in the top right corner

2. Select your wallet provider (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, etc.)

3. Make sure you're connected to Base Sepolia network

4. If you're on the wrong network, switch to Base Sepolia in your wallet

Position not showing after locking

Problem: Lock transaction succeeded but position doesn't appear

Solution:

• Wait 30 seconds to 5 minutes for the verifier to process your lock

• Click the Refresh button on "My Positions" page

• The verifier automatically detects your lock and adds you to the upcoming epoch

• If it still doesn't appear after 5 minutes, check the transaction on BaseScan

Quick Start Checklist

Before You Begin

• Bittensor wallet created (coldkey + hotkey)

• Python 3.11 installed

• Cartha CLI installed (pip install cartha-cli)

• MetaMask (or other EVM wallet) installed

• Base Sepolia network added to MetaMask

• Testnet ETH in your wallet (from faucet)

• Testnet USDC in your wallet (from Cartha faucet)

• Testnet TAO in your Bittensor wallet (for registration)

Quick Setup Steps

1. Get Tokens

   • Get testnet ETH from https://console.optimism.io/faucet

   • Get testnet USDC from https://cartha.finance/faucet

   • Get testnet TAO from https://app.minersunion.ai/testnet-faucet

2. Register Your Hotkey

   pip install cartha-cli
   cartha miner register --wallet-name <coldkey> --wallet-hotkey <hotkey> --network test

   Save your hotkey SS58 address!

3. Lock Funds via Web Interface

   • Go to https://cartha.finance

   • Click "Become an LP"

   • Enter your hotkey SS58 address

   • Choose pool, amount, and lock duration

   • Connect wallet (Base Sepolia network)

   • Approve USDC transaction

   • Confirm lock transaction

4. Verify Your Position

   • Visit https://cartha.finance/positions

   • Your position should appear within 30 seconds to 5 minutes

Additional Resources

• Cartha Lock UI - Web interface for locking funds

• My Positions - View and manage your liquidity positions

• USDC Faucet - Get testnet USDC

• Testnet Overview - Learn more about Cartha testnet

• CLI Documentation - Cartha CLI reference

• Discord - Join the community for support

Next Steps

• 🔄 Experiment with different pools (BTC/USD, ETH/USD, EUR/USD)

• 📊 Monitor your positions at https://cartha.finance/positions

• 💰 Track your rewards each epoch

• 🚀 Top up or extend your positions for higher rewards

• 👥 Join Discord to share experiences and get help

Important Reminders

• ⚠️ Testnet Only: All tokens are testnet tokens with no real value

• 🔒 Lock Duration: Minimum 7 days, maximum 365 days

• ⏰ Epoch Timing: Lock before epoch ends to be included in next reward cycle

• 💸 Gas Fees: Keep some testnet ETH for transaction fees

• 🔄 24h Cooldown: USDC faucet has 24-hour cooldown per wallet

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Ready to become a miner? Visit https://cartha.finance and start providing liquidity today!