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Getting Started

Forge is a Bittensor-native money market. Because Bittensor pairs a Substrate runtime with an EVM execution environment, interacting with Forge needs a normal EVM wallet and an awareness of how that EVM wallet relates to the Bittensor staking pallet underneath.

The short version:

  1. Connect an EVM wallet. Forge recommends Talisman EVM.
  2. Add the Bittensor EVM network.
  3. Understand the wallet's mapped native Bittensor address.
  4. Make sure the wallet has TAO for gas.
  5. Approve Forge to use your native Alpha stake as collateral before borrowing TAO.

1. Add Bittensor EVM to your wallet

Forge uses an EVM wallet for app interactions. Forge recommends Talisman EVM for the Bittensor EVM flow; the wallet signs transactions to Forge contracts.

Forge currently targets Bittensor EVM testnet. Add this network to your wallet:

FieldTestnet value
Network nameBittensor EVM Testnet
RPC URLhttps://test.chain.opentensor.ai
Chain ID945
Currency symbolTAO

Use chain ID 945 when your wallet asks for the network identifier. Public RPC URLs can change, so verify against the official Bittensor docs if the endpoint becomes unavailable.

2. Understand the two address formats

Bittensor has two address formats that matter for Forge:

  • H160 address: the 0x... address shown in Talisman EVM and used by EVM contracts.
  • SS58 address: the native Bittensor wallet address used by the Subtensor pallet, btcli, and Substrate wallets.

Every EVM H160 address has a deterministic SS58 mirror address. Think of this as the native Bittensor wallet address connected to your EVM wallet. The mirror is derived from the H160 address and is the address the Bittensor runtime uses when connecting EVM activity to Subtensor state.

In simple terms:

Talisman EVM address: 0x...
        ↓ maps to
Bittensor mirror: SS58 address starting with 5...

This does not mean the same private key can sign both kinds of transactions. An EVM wallet signs EVM transactions. A Bittensor/Substrate wallet signs Subtensor extrinsics. The mirror connects the account state, not the signing method.

3. Fund the EVM wallet with TAO

Gas on Bittensor EVM is paid in TAO.

To fund an EVM wallet from the Bittensor side, send TAO to the wallet's SS58 mirror address. After the transfer confirms, the TAO appears as the EVM wallet's TAO balance in Talisman EVM.

Use only official wallet or exchange flows and verify the destination carefully.

4. Understand how Alpha stake reaches Forge

Native Alpha stake is not normal ERC20 wallet state. It lives in the Bittensor staking pallet and is read through Bittensor precompiles.

Forge's Alpha collateral flow uses the StakingV2 precompile at:

0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000805

The important user idea is:

  • your Alpha stake starts under a Bittensor coldkey.
  • Forge needs approval to move the amount of Alpha stake you want to use as collateral for the selected subnet and hotkey.
  • the Forge contract uses the staking precompile to move approved Alpha stake and update collateral accounting in the same transaction.

The contract-aware approval and pull-in flow is enabled by opentensor/subtensor PR #2478, which added approve and transferStakeFrom to the staking precompile.

5. Approve and supply Alpha collateral

The Forge interaction looks like this:

  1. Connect the EVM wallet.
  2. Select the supported Alpha market.
  3. Choose the amount of native Alpha stake to use as collateral.
  4. Approve Forge to move that Alpha stake through the Bittensor staking precompile.
  5. Supply Alpha collateral.
  6. Forge calls the staking precompile and verifies the collateral movement.
  7. The app shows the supplied collateral and available TAO borrowing power.

6. What to check before borrowing

Before borrowing TAO, users should check:

  • the wallet is connected to the correct Bittensor EVM network.
  • the EVM wallet has TAO for gas.
  • the app shows the expected H160 wallet and SS58 mirror.
  • the selected Alpha market matches the intended subnet/hotkey.
  • the collateral factor and liquidation threshold are visible.
  • the account has a safety buffer below the maximum borrow amount.
  • the app clearly shows any limits, locks, or pending staking operations.

Bittensor staking behavior can include runtime minimums, same-block operation limits, and dust cleanup. Forge surfaces these constraints in the app rather than making users guess.

Helpful official references