Subnet takeovers

A subnet's owner can change without anyone selling it. If someone else shows more conviction, the subnet can pass to them.

Once a subnet is at least a year old, the chain checks after each epoch whether one hotkey has built up enough conviction on its own. If its conviction is more than 18% of the subnet's eligible alpha, ownership of the subnet passes to that hotkey.

Only conviction pointed directly at that hotkey counts. Several smaller holders cannot add their conviction together to cross the line.

The idea is that a subnet should belong to whoever is most committed to it over the long term, not only to whoever first registered it. For owners, it means keeping a subnet is not automatic. They need conviction of their own.