Prototype preview · concept demonstration · figures illustrative, not financial advice
SN20 · the subnet incubator

Welcome to the Breeding Ground — we grow Bittensor's next generation of subnets.

SN20 is an on-chain accelerator. It funds, supports and launches the strongest new Bittensor subnets — and rewards everyone along the way.

COHORT_01 — APPLICATIONS OPEN 2026.06.11
root_idea incubating incubating graduated_subnet
An incubator for subnets///Market-funded launches///Native Bittensor crowdloans///8 teams per cohort///Real emissions from block one///Hold SN20, grow with every graduate///
Find your place

There are two ways to stand in the Breeding Ground.

SN20 is built for two kinds of people — the teams who want to launch a subnet, and the people who want to grow with the ones who do. Pick your path.

I'm building a subnet

The best on-ramp into Bittensor.

Launching a subnet alone means fronting ~$1.2M, fighting for infrastructure, and hoping you're noticed. SN20 is the alternative: the runway, the rails, and the launch — without surrendering your idea or your upside.

  • No $1.2M to start — the market funds your registration through a crowdloan.
  • Infrastructure that already exists — run on proven, maintained, bare-metal validation.
  • You keep your subnet — graduate into your own leased slot, not someone else's.
  • Your idea stays private — submissions are confidential from the first step.
Apply to a cohort
I want to back the flywheel

One position. Every graduate.

You don't have to pick winners. The SN20 flywheel is engineered so holders, backers and the network all compound together — back it once, and grow with everything it graduates.

  • Hold SN20 — and receive monthly airdrops from every subnet it graduates.
  • Back a specific team — lock TAO and earn its emissions directly.
  • Built-in alignment — every party compounds at the same time, by design.
  • Be early — to something built to compound for years, not to pump.
See the flywheel
The problem

The best ideas never break ground.

Launching a Bittensor subnet is one of the most expensive first steps in crypto. Strong teams are turned away before they ever begin.

~$1.2M

The approximate cost — paid in TAO — to register a single new subnet today.

DYNAMIC BURNRISES WITH EACH REGISTRATION
01

Capital is the gatekeeper

Strong builders are filtered out by registration cost — not by the quality of their idea.

02

No runway, no support

New teams face infrastructure, validation and marketing alone — and most quietly stall out.

03

Believers have no way in

There is no clean, on-chain way to back a promising subnet early and grow alongside it.

The cycle

From a seed of an idea to its own subnet.

SN20 runs like a startup accelerator — but every stage is native to Bittensor and settled on-chain.

STAGE_01

Plant

Teams privately register their idea — submissions stay confidential. A hybrid community vote selects the cohort of eight.

→ PRIVATE SUBMISSION
STAGE_02

Nurture

Selected teams get a temporary slot, infrastructure, validation, marketing and milestone funding.

→ 6 MONTH PROGRAM
STAGE_03

Back

Believers lock TAO behind the teams they trust. At graduation, a native crowdloan funds the subnet.

→ MARKET-FUNDED
STAGE_04

Graduate

The team launches its own leased subnet. Backers receive lease shares — real emissions from day one.

→ OWN SUBNET SLOT
Who it's for

Three ways to grow with SN20.

The system is built so builders, backers, and the people who simply hold SN20 all gain at the same time.

For builders

Reach the network without chasing VC.

Bring the idea. SN20 provides the runway, the rails, and a fully funded launch.

  • 6 months of infrastructure, validation & marketing
  • Milestone-based runway from the crowdloan pool
  • Graduation into your own leased subnet
For SN20 holders THE ANGEL SEAT

Hold one token. Grow with every graduate.

Holding SN20 makes you a passive angel investor in the entire program — no picking winners required.

  • Airdrops from every subnet SN20 ever graduates
  • Buy & burn from fees and carry tightens supply
  • One position — exposure to every future cohort
For backers

Back a single team you believe in.

Lock TAO behind one specific team and own a direct share of its emissions.

  • Pro-rata lease shares, paid on-chain
  • Real emissions from the new subnet's first day
  • Full refund if a crowdloan target isn't met
8
TEAMS PER COHORT
6mo
SEED TO GRADUATION
~18%
OWNER EMISSIONS SHARED
GRADUATES FEEDING HOLDERS
Token holders monthly airdrops Crowd funders per-block emissions Incubation teams slot · runway · launch SN20 subnet buy & burn SN20 THE ENGINE
The engine

A flywheel that turns faster with every graduate.

Each subnet SN20 graduates sends fees, carry and emissions back through one engine — funding the next cohort and rewarding all four parties: the subnet, its token holders, its crowd funders, and its incubation teams.

Explore the full flywheel
Join the first cohort

Help us grow the next wave of Bittensor.

SN20 is gathering the builders, backers and strategic partners who will shape Cohort 01. Whatever you bring to the table — let's plant something.