Overview
When you activate the Smart Allocator, Crucible creates a Smart Account on your behalf. This is a special on-chain account that can automatically stake your rewards without requiring you to approve every transaction manually.
Your Smart Account is powered by a Bittensor "proxy wallet," a security feature built into the network. This article explains what it is, why it exists, and what to expect when you set one up.
What is a Smart Account?
Think of your Smart Account as a trusted assistant with a very limited job description.
Your main wallet is like the CEO. It holds all the authority: it can send TAO, stake, unstake, and make any decision. Your Smart Account is like an assistant who is only allowed to do one thing: stake your rewards to validators. It cannot send your TAO anywhere, access your recovery phrase, or do anything outside of its narrow role.
This design lets the Smart Allocator work automatically in the background while keeping your funds secure.
Why Does Crucible Use This?
Without a Smart Account, every time the Smart Allocator wanted to stake your daily rewards, you would need to:
Open the Crucible extension
Review the transaction
Click "Approve"
(If using Ledger) Physically confirm on your device
This would defeat the purpose of automation. By creating a Smart Account with staking-only permissions, Crucible can move your rewards into subnets on your behalf without requiring constant manual approvals.
Your principal TAO is never at risk. The Smart Account can only stake. It cannot transfer, withdraw, or move your funds anywhere.
The Reserve Fee
Creating a Smart Account requires a small reserve deposit of approximately 0.1 TAO.
What is this fee? This is not a payment to Crucible. It is an on-chain deposit required by the Bittensor network to register the proxy relationship between your main wallet and your Smart Account.
Is it permanent? No. This deposit is fully returned to you when you remove your Smart Account. Think of it like a security deposit on an apartment: you get it back when you move out.
What about transaction fees? In addition to the reserve deposit, a small amount of TAO (approximately 0.01 TAO) is used to fund the Smart Account so it can pay for its own transaction fees when staking on your behalf.
What Happens When I Set Up a Smart Account?
When you activate the Smart Allocator for the first time, Crucible will guide you through creating your Smart Account. Here is what to expect:
Authorization: You will approve the creation of the proxy relationship. This tells the Bittensor network that your Smart Account is allowed to stake on your behalf.
Reserve Deposit: Approximately 0.1 TAO will be transferred to fund the on-chain deposit.
Account Funding: A small additional amount (approximately 0.01 TAO) will be sent to your Smart Account to cover its future transaction fees.
Confirmation: Once complete, your Smart Account is active and the Smart Allocator can begin working.
If you are using a Ledger, you will need to physically confirm each of these steps on your device.
What Can and Cannot My Smart Account Do?
Action | Smart Account Can Do This? |
Stake my rewards to validators | Yes |
Unstake my TAO | No |
Send TAO to another address | No |
Access my recovery phrase | No |
Your Smart Account is intentionally restricted. It exists only to automate the staking portion of the Smart Allocator.
Removing My Smart Account
If you decide to turn off the Smart Allocator, you can remove your Smart Account at any time.
When you do:
The proxy relationship is deleted from the blockchain.
Your reserve deposit (approximately 0.1 TAO) is returned to your main wallet.
Any remaining balance in the Smart Account is also returned.
The Smart Allocator stops running.
You remain in total control. Crucible cannot prevent you from removing your Smart Account or accessing your TAO.
Common Questions
Q: Is my Smart Account a separate wallet I need to back up?
No. Your Smart Account does not have its own recovery phrase. It is tied to your main wallet and controlled by your existing keys. If you have backed up your main wallet's 12-word recovery phrase (or your Ledger's 24-word phrase), you are covered.
Q: What happens if Crucible Labs disappears?
Your TAO is always on the Bittensor blockchain, not on Crucible's servers. If Crucible Labs ceased to exist, you could remove the proxy relationship using any Bittensor-compatible tool (like the command line interface or Polkadot.js). Your funds would remain fully accessible.
Q: Why is there a reserve deposit?
This is a standard Bittensor network requirement for creating proxy relationships. The deposit prevents spam and ensures that proxy accounts are created intentionally. It is not a fee paid to Crucible.