🤖 Bittensor Subnet DCA (dTAO)

The purpose of this script is educational. It demonstrates how to use the bittensor library to create a simple DCA (dTAO) bot for the Bittensor network. The script will chase the EMA of the Subnet token Alpha price and stake TAO into Alpha when the price is below the EMA and unstake Alpha into TAO when the price is above the EMA.

🔍 How It Works

📈 EMA Trading Strategy

The script implements a simple trading strategy based on the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of the TAO price:

• When the current price is below the EMA: The script will stake TAO to the subnet, effectively "buying" at a lower price
• When the current price is above the EMA: The script will unstake TAO from the subnet, effectively "selling" at a higher price

This strategy aims to target an Alpha price along the EMA and accumulate more TAO over time by consistently staking low and unstaking high relative to the Subnet moving average.

⚡ Slippage Auto-Tuning

The script uses a binary search algorithm to automatically find the optimal trade size that matches your target slippage:

1. For each trade, it starts with your remaining budget as the maximum possible trade size

When using --budget 0, the script will:

• For staking: Use the full available TAO balance on the coldkey
• For unstaking: Use the full available subnet alpha balance staked to the hotkey (converted to TAO)

A safety balance of 1.0 TAO is maintained to prevent completely emptying wallets:

• Staking operations that would reduce balance below 1.0 TAO are skipped
• The wallet is removed from rotation when this occurs
• Unstaking operations are not affected by safety balance

2. It then performs a binary search to find the largest trade size that stays within your slippage target
3. If the calculated slippage would be too high, it reduces the trade size
4. If the calculated slippage would be too low, it increases the trade size
5. This process continues until it finds the optimal trade size that matches your target slippage

This auto-tuning ensures that:

• Large trades are broken into smaller pieces to minimize price impact
• Each trade maintains your desired slippage target
• The script adapts to changing market conditions automatically

📊 Dynamic Slippage Control

The script includes an optional dynamic slippage adjustment feature that scales the slippage based on price deviation from the EMA:

How It Works

• Maximum slippage (--slippage) is used when price difference exceeds max-price-diff
• Slippage scales down linearly as price approaches min-price-diff
• No slippage applied when price difference is at min-price-diff
• Price difference shows how far price has moved relative to EMA:
  • -50% means price is half of EMA
  • +100% means price is double EMA
  • 0% means price equals EMA

Example output when price is within the min-price-diff:

📊 Dynamic Slippage Adjustment
----------------------------------------
Base Slippage       : 0.000100
Min Price Diff      : 5.00%
Max Price Diff      : 20.00%
Current Price Diff  : 15.50%
Scale Factor        : 0.70
Target Slippage     : 0.000730
----------------------------------------

Example output when price is beyond the max-price-diff:

📊 Dynamic Slippage Adjustment
----------------------------------------
Base Slippage       : 0.000100
Min Price Diff      : 5.00%
Max Price Diff      : 20.00%
Current Price Diff  : -66.67%
Scale Factor        : 1.00
Target Slippage     : 0.000100
----------------------------------------

Usage

Enable dynamic slippage with these optional flags:

python3 btt_subnet_dca.py \
    --netuid 19 \
    --wallet coldkey-01 \
    --hotkey hotkey-01 \
    --slippage 0.0001 \
    --min-price-diff 0.05 \
    --max-price-diff 0.20 \
    --dynamic-slippage \
    --test

Parameters

• --dynamic-slippage: Enable dynamic slippage adjustment
• --min-price-diff: Price difference where base slippage is used (e.g., 0.05 for 5%)
• --max-price-diff: Price difference where maximum slippage is used (e.g., 0.20 for 20%)
• --slippage: Base slippage value

This feature allows for:

• Minimal slippage when price is near the EMA
• Gradually increasing slippage as price deviates further
• Maximum slippage (10x base) when price difference exceeds max-price-diff
• Full slippage when price difference exceeds max-price-diff
• Automatic adjustment based on market conditions

📊 Database & Reporting

The script maintains a SQLite database to track all operations and provides detailed reporting:

Database Features:

• Tracks all wallet operations
• Records transaction success/failure
• Stores historical price data
• Maintains balance history

Real-time Reports:

• Activity summaries for 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, and 72h periods
• Per-wallet statistics
• Transaction counts and volumes
• Price ranges and averages
• ASCII charts of activity
• Success/failure rates

Example Report:

🔑 Accessing wallet: coldkey-01 with hotkey: hotkey-01 for local use only.
Enter your password: 
Decrypting...

📊 Subnet Information (Detailed View)
============================================================

🌐 Network
------------------------------------------------------------
Netuid                   : 19
Subnet                   : inference
Symbol                   : t

👤 Ownership
------------------------------------------------------------
Owner Hotkey             : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Owner Coldkey            : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Registered               : 2023-12-30 04:47:08 UTC

⚙️ Status
------------------------------------------------------------
Is Dynamic               : True
Tempo                    : 360
Last Step                : 4958675
Blocks Since Last Step   : 25

📈 Market
------------------------------------------------------------
Subnet Volume (Alpha)    : t7,550.223801190
Subnet Volume (Tao)      : τ793.161323920
Emission                 : 4.11%
Price (Tao)              : 0.10505
Moving Price (Tao)       : 0.17677
============================================================

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.005000 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.005000 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.010000 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
🧪 TEST MODE: Would have staked 0.005000 TAO

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.961664286τ
Stake               : t72.911671858t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

(repeats each block)

🔄 Wallet Rotation Mode

The script can operate in two modes:

• Single wallet mode (traditional operation)
• Wallet rotation mode (automatically cycles through multiple wallets)

In rotation mode, the script will:

1. Scan your ~/.bittensor/wallets/ directory
2. Process coldkeys sequentially in alphabetical order
3. Prompt for each coldkey's password individually
4. Allow skipping to next coldkey by pressing Enter
5. Initialize all hotkeys for successfully unlocked coldkeys
6. Continuously rotate through unlocked wallet/hotkey pairs

Note: The script will:

• Cache passwords securely in environment variables
• Perform one stake/unstake operation per wallet before rotating
• Allow skipping individual coldkeys during initialization
• Continue to next coldkey when one is skipped
• Show truncated wallet addresses during operations for tracking

Example initialization flow:

🔐 Initializing wallets for rotation...
============================================================

💼 Processing wallet: coldkey-01 with 14 hotkeys
Enter password for coldkey-01 (or press Enter to skip to next coldkey): 
✅ Successfully unlocked coldkey: coldkey-01
  ✓ Added hotkey: hotkey-01
  ✓ Added hotkey: hotkey-02

💼 Processing wallet: coldkey-02 with 14 hotkeys
Enter password for coldkey-02 (or press Enter to skip to next coldkey): 
⏭️  Skipping coldkey: coldkey-02

💼 Processing wallet: coldkey-03 with 14 hotkeys
...

🔄 Wallet Rotation Mode

The script can operate in two modes:

• Single wallet mode (traditional operation)
• Wallet rotation mode (automatically cycles through multiple wallets)

In rotation mode, the script will:

1. Scan your ~/.bittensor/wallets/ directory
2. Prompt for each wallet's password once
3. Initialize all wallet/hotkey pairs
4. Continuously rotate through unlocked wallets
5. Allow skipping remaining wallets by pressing Enter
6. Execute one operation per wallet before moving to next
7. Process up to two hotkeys per coldkey

Note: The script will:

• Cache passwords securely in environment variables
• Perform one stake/unstake operation per wallet before rotating
• Skip remaining wallets if a blank password is entered
• Show truncated wallet addresses during operations for tracking

⚠️ Important Warnings

🧪 Test Mode

It's strongly recommended to first run the bot in test mode to understand its behavior without making actual transactions. Test mode will simulate all operations without performing real stakes/unstakes.

👀 Supervision Required

This script performs automatic trading operations with real TAO. Do not leave it running unattended unless you fully understand its behavior and intentionally choose to do so. Market conditions can change rapidly, and continuous supervision is recommended during initial usage.

💡 Important Considerations

🔄 Preventing Self-Competition

When running multiple instances of this script, it's important to avoid having your instances compete against each other. Here are some strategies to prevent self-competition:

1. 📊 Price Zone Strategy:

   • Use the --min-price-diff flag to specify how far from the EMA the script should operate
   • Example: Run one instance at 5% from EMA, another at 10% from EMA
   • This creates non-overlapping price zones for each instance

   # Instance 1: Operates when price is 5-10% from EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-01 --hotkey hotkey-01 --min-price-diff 0.05 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1
   
   # Instance 2: Operates when price is 10-15% from EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-02 --hotkey hotkey-02 --min-price-diff 0.10 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1

2. ↕️ One-Way Operation:

   • Use the --one-way-mode flag to restrict instances to either staking or only unstaking
   • This prevents instances from competing in opposite directions

   # Instance 1: Only stakes when below EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-01 --hotkey hotkey-01 --one-way-mode stake --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1
   
   # Instance 2: Only unstakes when above EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-02 --hotkey hotkey-02 --one-way-mode unstake --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1

3. 🔀 Combined Strategy:

   • Combine price zones with one-way operation for maximum control

   # Instance 1: Stakes only, 5% below EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-01 --hotkey hotkey-01 --one-way-mode stake --min-price-diff 0.05 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1
   
   # Instance 2: Unstakes only, 5% above EMA
   python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet wallet-02 --hotkey hotkey-02 --one-way-mode unstake --min-price-diff 0.05 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1

🛠️ Setup

📦 Install python 3.11

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3.11 python3.11-venv

📥 Clone the repository and install dependencies

cd $HOME
git clone https://github.com/korbondev/btt-subnet-dca
cd ./btt-subnet-dca

python3.11 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

⚙️ Environment Configuration

The bot can be configured using environment variables. Create a .env file in the root directory by copying the sample:

cp .env.sample .env
chmod 600 .env  # Restrict file permissions

Available Settings

🌐 Network Settings

• SUBTENSOR: Subtensor network endpoint
  • Default: finney (mainnet)
  • Alternative: ws://127.0.0.1:9944 (local subtensor)
• BLOCK_TIME_SECONDS: Block time in seconds
  • Default: 12

💰 Trading Settings

• SAFETY_BALANCE: Minimum TAO balance to maintain
  • Default: 1.0
  • Example: Set to 10.0 to keep at least 10 TAO in wallet
• SLIPPAGE_PRECISION: Target slippage precision in TAO
  • Default: 0.0001
  • Example: 0.0001 TAO = $0.05 in slippage for $500 TAO

🔑 Wallet Passwords (Optional)

You can store wallet passwords in the .env file using the following format:

BT_PW__ROOT__BITTENSOR_WALLETS_<wallet-name>_COLDKEY=<password>

Example:

BT_PW__ROOT__BITTENSOR_WALLETS_COLDKEY-01_COLDKEY=your-password-here

⚠️ Security Notes

The .env file contains sensitive information. Make sure to:

• Never commit it to version control
• Restrict file permissions (chmod 600 .env)
• Back it up securely
• Keep passwords in a secure password manager

🔄 Configuration Priority

Settings are applied in the following order (highest to lowest priority):

1. Command line arguments
2. Environment variables from .env
3. Default values in code

📝 Usage

cd $HOME/btt-subnet-dca
source .venv/bin/activate

python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --help  # Show help message and available options

🎮 Command Line Arguments

⚡ Required Arguments:

• --netuid: The subnet ID to operate on (e.g., 19 for inference subnet)
• --wallet: The name of your wallet
• --hotkey: The name of the hotkey to use
• --slippage: Target slippage in TAO (e.g., 0.0001). Lower values mean smaller trade sizes
• --budget: Maximum TAO budget to use for trading operations (use 0 to use full available balance/stake)

🔧 Optional Arguments:

• --min-price-diff: Minimum price difference from EMA to operate (e.g., 0.05 for 5% from EMA)
• --one-way-mode: Restrict operations to only staking or only unstaking. Options: stake, unstake (default: both)
• --test: Run in test mode without making actual transactions (recommended for first run)
• --rotate-all-wallets: Enable wallet rotation mode (cycles through all available wallets)

📋 Examples

🧪 Test Mode Example

Run with test mode to simulate operations without making actual transactions:

python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet coldkey-01 --hotkey hotkey-01 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 1 --test

Results:

🔑 Accessing wallet: coldkey-01 with hotkey: hotkey-01 for local use only.
Enter your password: 
Decrypting...

📊 Subnet Information (Detailed View)
============================================================

🌐 Network
------------------------------------------------------------
Netuid                   : 19
Subnet                   : inference
Symbol                   : t

👤 Ownership
------------------------------------------------------------
Owner Hotkey             : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Owner Coldkey            : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Registered               : 2023-12-30 04:47:08 UTC

⚙️ Status
------------------------------------------------------------
Is Dynamic               : True
Tempo                    : 360
Last Step                : 4958675
Blocks Since Last Step   : 25

📈 Market
------------------------------------------------------------
Subnet Volume (Alpha)    : t7,550.223801190
Subnet Volume (Tao)      : τ793.161323920
Emission                 : 4.11%
Price (Tao)              : 0.10505
Moving Price (Tao)       : 0.17677
============================================================

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.005000 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.005000 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.010000 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
🧪 TEST MODE: Would have staked 0.005000 TAO

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.961664286τ
Stake               : t72.911671858t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

(repeats each block)

🚀 Production Mode Example

Run in production mode with real transactions:

python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --netuid 19 --wallet coldkey-01 --hotkey hotkey-01 --slippage 0.000001 --budget 0.01

Results:

🔑 Accessing wallet: coldkey-01 with hotkey: hotkey-01 for local use only.
Enter your password: 
Decrypting...

📊 Subnet Information (Detailed View)
============================================================

🌐 Network
------------------------------------------------------------
Netuid                   : 19
Subnet                   : inference
Symbol                   : t

👤 Ownership
------------------------------------------------------------
Owner Hotkey             : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Owner Coldkey            : 5CFJNoUYbd...
Registered               : 2023-12-30 04:47:04 UTC

⚙️ Status
------------------------------------------------------------
Is Dynamic               : True
Tempo                    : 360
Last Step                : 4958314
Blocks Since Last Step   : 359

📈 Market
------------------------------------------------------------
Subnet Volume (Alpha)    : t7,546.618478178
Subnet Volume (Tao)      : τ794.790116167
Emission                 : 4.11%
Price (Tao)              : 0.10532
Moving Price (Tao)       : 0.17659
============================================================

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.005000 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.005000 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.010000 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
✅ Successfully staked 0.005000 TAO @ 0.105317

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.966039286τ
Stake               : t72.069664160t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

📊 Status Update
----------------------------------------
Last Step           : 4958675
Blocks Since Last Step: 0
Volume (α)          : 7546.71
Volume (τ)          : 794.73
Price (τ)           : 0.10531
EMA (τ)             : 0.17660
Diff                : -40.37%
----------------------------------------

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.002500 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.002500 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.005000 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
✅ Successfully staked 0.002500 TAO @ 0.105309

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.963539286τ
Stake               : t72.894814175t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

📊 Status Update
----------------------------------------
Last Step           : 4958675
Blocks Since Last Step: 2
Volume (α)          : 7547.88
Volume (τ)          : 794.80
Price (τ)           : 0.10530
EMA (τ)             : 0.17661
Diff                : -40.38%
----------------------------------------

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.001250 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.001250 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.002500 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
✅ Successfully staked 0.001250 TAO @ 0.105301

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.962289286τ
Stake               : t72.906210632t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

📊 Status Update
----------------------------------------
Last Step           : 4958675
Blocks Since Last Step: 4
Volume (α)          : 7547.97
Volume (τ)          : 794.74
Price (τ)           : 0.10529
EMA (τ)             : 0.17663
Diff                : -40.39%
----------------------------------------

🔍 Finding optimal trade size...
  • Testing 0.000625 TAO → 0.000000 slippage

💫 Trade Parameters
----------------------------------------
Size                : 0.000625 TAO
Slippage            : 0.000000 TAO
Budget Left         : 0.001250 TAO
----------------------------------------

📈 Price below EMA - STAKING
✅ Successfully staked 0.000625 TAO @ 0.105292

💰 Wallet Status
----------------------------------------
Balance             : τ2.961664286τ
Stake               : t72.911671858t
----------------------------------------

⏳ Waiting for next block...

🔄 Wallet Rotation Example

Run with wallet rotation to cycle through all available wallets:

python3 btt_subnet_dca.py --rotate-all-wallets --netuid 19 --slippage 0.0001 --budget 0 --test

Note: When using --budget 0 in rotation mode:

• For staking: Uses full available TAO balance
• For unstaking: Uses full available stake converted to TAO

📊 Viewing Reports

You can view reports while the bot is running by using reports.py directly:

# Show overall activity summary
python3 reports.py --summary

# Show statistics for specific wallet
python3 reports.py --wallet 5CnFd... --period 24h

# Show statistics for all wallets
python3 reports.py --all-wallets

Report Options:

• --summary: Show overall activity summary for all time segments
• --wallet: Show statistics for specific wallet (provide coldkey address)
• --period: Time period for statistics (6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 72h, 7d, 30d, all)
• --all-wallets: Show statistics for all wallets

The reports module can also be imported and used programmatically:

from database import SubnetDCADatabase
from reports import SubnetDCAReports

db = SubnetDCADatabase()
reports = SubnetDCAReports(db)

# Print activity summary
reports.print_summary()

# Print wallet statistics
reports.print_wallet_summary("5CnFd...")

🔮 Further Improvements

• 🔐 Update wallet management systemt to optionally skip the password prompt
• 📊 Add graphical visualizations for historical data
• 🔔 Webhooks to a Telegram channel or Discord server for live monitoring and alerts
• ⚙️ Add configuration file support for persistent settings
• 💱 Replace dynamic slippage with dynamic budget scaling:
  • As subnet liquidity grows, slippage becomes less significant
  • Dynamic budget would scale trade size based on price deviation
  • Larger trades when far from EMA, smaller when close
  • More intuitive for deep liquidity pools
  • Easier to configure and understand

⚠️ Final Notes

⚖️ At your own risk

This script is provided as-is for educational purposes. Use it at your own risk.

💬 Support

If you need help, please read the Bittensor documentation and join the Bittensor Discord, where you could ask politely for help understanding some the concepts in this script. Do not discuss prices or trading strategies, only concepts of working with the Bittensor library.