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Jacob Steeves announced today that he has stepped down as CEO of the Opentensor Foundation (OTF).
Steeves stated he no longer controls OTF, the validators, or chain development, but he made it clear that he is not leaving Bittensor. He plans to push deeper into the ecosystem as an active participant (perhaps as a miner or building subnets, he said) as OTF works to decentralize chain nodes.
"Not much will change, I’m still going to be in the same calls and do the same things and continue to write chain code, and make subnets, and run novelty search and call people scammers and suggest changes — just not with the same legal authority (and that’s important )" – Jacob Steeves
The move marks a major milestone in the network's shift to full decentralization. Joseph Jacks of OSS Capital likened the move to that of Satoshi stepping into the background of Bitcoin's development:
"...the passing of the torch to the ecosystem… a grand moment reminiscent of Satoshi igniting the fire of Bitcoin and stepping back a few years in… the @Bittensor cult is strong and there is no project that comes close to it in the history of digitally scarce, extrinsic Incentive Computing since Bitcoin itself."
The transition has already taken place.
Hear the full announcement in the video below:
A New Governance System
Alongside the leadership change, Bittensor is rolling out a new governance framework built on true separation of powers between validators and subnet owners, forming two houses, like a bicameral legislature.
Additionally The Triumvirate, a three-person group that will be created to ratify all chain upgrades, will be selected via blind random vote using block height. The top ~25 subnet owners and top ~12 validators are eligible, with members rotating every six to eight months.
The voting system balances efficiency with decentralization: hot fixes can pass in as little as five hours if unopposed, while contentious upgrades get extended debate. A 50% quorum voting against a proposal blocks it.
What Decentralization Unlocks
Decentralization will progress across three phases:
- Nominated Proof of Stake with OTF nodes.
- Expansion to 3-4 independent organizations.
- Open to any individual operator.
Notably, the realization of this decentralization will make several new capabilities possible:
- Privacy on Bittensor: True privacy guarantees that no company or foundation could legally offer under centralized governance.
- Provably immutable tokens: Cryptographic proof of token immutability locked in a decentralized network.
- New financial primitives: Lending protocols and other innovations on top of existing pools, now legally viable without centralized governance.
What's Next
- Next month: A minor upgrade enabling emission cut votes, allowing the community to vote to stop emission on exploitative subnets (requires more than 2% validator vote to trigger).
- End of Q1 (~3 months): Full governance system launches with triumvirate voting, subnet owner and validator participation, and randomized selection all going live.
- 6 months: Chain node decentralization complete, expanding from Nominated Proof of Stake with OTF nodes to 3–4 independent organizations, then fully incentivized and open to any individual operator.
The torch has officially been passed, and the future of Bittensor, which has never been brighter, is now in the hands of the ecosystem.
Onwards.
Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. The information provided should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any digital asset, security, or investment strategy. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with a licensed financial professional before making any investment decisions. The publisher and its contributors are not responsible for any losses that may arise from reliance on the information presented.
