Network Pow Registration Allowed
Network pow registration allowed is a per-subnet hyperparameter, listed in the documentation as
NetworkPowRegistrationAllowed, that exposes a proof-of-work registration flag. The reference is
explicit that it is not used for neuron registration, because registration on a subnet is burn-based
and always open
(Subnet Hyperparameters,
Understanding Neurons).
What It Controls
In practice the flag does not gate how neurons join a subnet. The documentation states that neuron registration is burn-based and always open, so admission is governed by paying the registration burn rather than by toggling a proof-of-work permission. The parameter remains exposed in the hyperparameter set but does not change that burn-based path (Subnet Hyperparameters, Understanding Neurons).
This makes it a legacy-style flag rather than an active control. Reading its value tells you what the field is set to, but it does not tell you whether neurons can register, since the burn-based path is always open regardless of this flag (Subnet Hyperparameters, Glossary: Register).
How Registration Actually Works
Neuron registration is a burn-based operation: a registrant pays the current burn cost to obtain a UID on the subnet. The dynamic burn price, not a proof-of-work toggle, is what regulates entry over time (Understanding Neurons, Glossary: Burn Cost).
That burn price moves within a band shaped by other hyperparameters such as the burn bounds and burn half life, which is where the live control over registration difficulty resides, rather than in this proof-of-work flag (Subnet Hyperparameters).
Documented Type, Default, and Setter
The Subnet Hyperparameters
reference lists NetworkPowRegistrationAllowed as a boolean defaulting to false. It is changed
through the sudo_set_network_pow_registration_allowed extrinsic and is settable by the subnet
owner, even though the documentation notes it is not used for neuron registration
(Subnet Hyperparameters).
Because each subnet carries its own value as per-netuid state, the flag on one netuid can differ from the documented default and from another subnet’s value (Subnet Hyperparameters).
Reading the Live Value for netuid 1
Network pow registration allowed is per-subnet chain state, so any live claim is tied to a specific netuid. For the documented example netuid 1 on Finney mainnet, the value appears in that subnet’s hyperparameter table, which the reference describes under viewing a subnet’s hyperparameters (Subnet Hyperparameters: View hyperparameters). The infobox uses netuid 1 only as an example label; the flag does not gate registration on any subnet, since the burn-based path is always open (Understanding Neurons).
Distinction from Network Registration Allowed
Network registration allowed determines whether neuron registration is enabled on a subnet, so a subnet with it disabled receives no new neurons. Network pow registration allowed is the proof-of-work flag that the documentation marks as not used, since registration is burn-based and always open (Subnet Hyperparameters, Understanding Neurons).
- Network registration allowed — whether neuron registration is enabled on the subnet.
- Network pow registration allowed — legacy proof-of-work flag, not used for neuron registration.