Brief · v1

Liquid Tensor

A decentralized machine-learning network where holding the token runs a Subnet Node that hosts AI model shards and mines lTAO. This is how the pieces work, on PancakeSwap v2, fully on-chain.

00Abstract

The future of AI should not be owned by a handful of data centers. Liquid Tensor is a peer-to-peer network for machine learning: GPU peers each host a piece of the models and combine into subnets that serve them, the same way BitTorrent shares a file. $lTAO is the token that runs it. Hold $lTAO and a Subnet Node mints to your wallet, represents your slice of the network, and mines lTAO from a Bitcoin-style emission. Nothing is staked to start, there is no mint page, and the art is a subnet drawn entirely on-chain.

01The network

Liquid Tensor is built on proven decentralized-learning research (Hivemind over libp2p, with a Kademlia distributed hash table to connect many machines into one network). Per model, each peer hosts a shard and combines with the others, so anyone can train, fine-tune, and sample models the way they would on PyTorch or Hugging Face.

  • Subnets are decentralized p2p networks that each serve AI models (language, vision, diffusion and more), like a blockchain that computes models instead of transaction blocks.
  • Inference validation is optimistic: node validators check that other nodes are honestly hosting the models. A dishonest node is removed by consensus, with penalties including slashing.

02The hybrid (how the node works)

$lTAO is a DN404-style hybrid. The ERC-20 and the Subnet Node ERC-721 are linked: your node count always equals your balance divided by 600. Cross 600 and a node appears, cross 1,200 and a second one appears, sell below a line and the matching node returns. There is no separate transaction to mint, it happens inside the transfer.

  • The pool, the hook and other contracts are flagged skipNFT, so the pool never mints nodes. Only real holders do.
  • Because a node mints per whole 600 and a buy is capped at 2,100, a single buy mints only a few nodes, which keeps buying cheap. The 600 figure is 20% of 3,000, sized to the 20% of supply that actually sits in the pool.

03Halving emission

This is the heart of the tokenomics, and it mirrors Bitcoin. Of the 21,000,000 fixed supply, only 20% seeds the pool. The other 80% is an emission reserve held by the token itself, mined out to Subnet Nodes over 64 halvings. There is no proof-of-work, the network rewards compute instead.

  • The reserve emits at a base rate that halves every year, so early nodes mine the most, exactly like early Bitcoin blocks.
  • Each second of emission is split across all nodes by weight, using a continuous magnified accumulator, so the maths is exact to the wei.
  • You call claimReward() to collect your mined $lTAO at any time, and claiming can compound straight into more nodes.

04Stake & tenure

Following nominated proof-of-stake, a node can be staked to run as a validator. Staking locks the node's 600 backing and makes the node permanent, then starts a tenure that grows its weight the longer it stays staked.

  • A live node has a reward weight of 100. A staked node's weight climbs to 250 over 90 days, so a fully tenured node mines 2.5x the lTAO of a fresh one.
  • Unstaking returns the backing minus an 8% burn, the on-chain echo of a slash, and retires the node.

05Fee & the pool

$lTAO trades against BNB in a PancakeSwap v2 pool. The token itself takes a 4% fee on each buy and sell and sends it to the treasury behind the network. The fee is collected in $lTAO, batched, and swapped to BNB automatically once it passes a threshold, so a trade costs nothing beyond the fee and the pool’s own 0.25% PancakeSwap fee.

06Limits & launch

The launch is fair: the 20% liquidity tranche was paired into the pool with 1 BNB, with no team allocation. Two limits are enforced on-chain and switch on the moment trading opens:

  • Max 2,100 $lTAO per buy, so no single transaction can sweep the book.
  • Max 42,000 $lTAO per wallet, so no one wallet can corner the early float.

07On-chain art

Every Subnet Node is a subnet graph drawn on BNB Chain, not hosted on a server, and a single composer contract that deploys its own two art contracts from its constructor, so the whole renderer is one verifiable deploy. The result is animated, with peers and edges, signals travelling the mesh, and a glowing frame once a node is staked. Because it is read from the chain, a node visibly changes as you hold and stake it.

08Parameters & contracts

Supply21,000,000 $lTAO, fixed
Emission reserve80% mined to nodes over 64 halvings
$lTAO per node600
Emissionhalves every year, by stake-weight
Stake tenure1.0x → 2.5x over 90 days
Unstake burn8% of the backing
Max buy / wallet2,100 / 42,000
Swap fee4% (the v4 hook)

Contracts: Liquid Tensor ($lTAO + the hybrid + emission + stake), SubnetNode (the ERC-721), LiquidTensorHook (the v4 hook), SubnetRenderer (one contract that deploys its own art modules). Hold $lTAO, run a node, mine lTAO. Everything above runs on-chain the moment you cross 600.