What is TAO?

TAO moves value across the Bittensor ecosystem. It is used for transfers, network fees and staking.

It is also the asset used to enter and exit service-subnet positions:

• Staking into a service subnet exchanges TAO for that subnet’s Alpha token
• Unstaking exchanges the Alpha back into TAO at the market conditions available at that time

Most fee-bearing network actions use a variable transaction fee paid from your liquid TAO balance. Service-subnet staking and unstaking also involve a pool swap fee and possible price impact.

How Root staking differs+

Root staking keeps your principal in TAO on netuid 0. It does not trade through an Alpha pool, so entering or exiting Root has no pool swap fee, price impact or MEV exposure.

Root rewards accrue through the selected validator’s basket of subnet Alpha positions. When claimed, that accrued value is converted into TAO and can be added to Root stake or withdrawn.

TAO

• Used across the Bittensor network
• Can be transferred between wallets
• Used for network fees and staking
• Connects to each service subnet’s Alpha market

Alpha

• Specific to one service subnet
• Represents a position in that subnet
• Has its own price and liquidity
• Can earn variable rewards when staked with a validator

Choosing an Alpha token means choosing exposure to a particular subnet. Different Alpha tokens can have different prices, liquidity, rewards and risks.

Read the Alpha-token guide →

Each service subnet has a market between TAO and that subnet’s Alpha token.

The amount of Alpha you receive depends on current market conditions and the size of your transaction. Larger swaps can have greater price impact.

Service-subnet pools currently use a default swap fee of about 0.05% of the input amount. The current fee, pool conditions and estimated output should be checked in the quote before confirmation.

PotaTao shows an estimated output before you confirm, but the final result can change if market conditions move first.

Root staking is the exception: it remains in TAO and does not use a service-subnet Alpha market.

Technical note+

The subnet identifier is called its netuid. Root is netuid 0.

Service-subnet markets are weighted pools holding TAO and Alpha. With the default equal weights, the spot price follows the ratio between the pool’s TAO and Alpha reserves. Protocol liquidity injections can adjust the weights without directly changing that spot price.

TAO sitting in your wallet does not earn staking rewards by itself.

There are two different staking paths:

Service-subnet staking

Your TAO is exchanged for that subnet’s Alpha token and linked to a validator.

Rewards are credited in Alpha at the subnet’s epoch. The default tempo is 360 blocks, or about 72 minutes, and the validator’s current take is deducted first.

Root staking

Your principal remains in TAO.

Rewards accrue through the selected Root validator’s basket and are realised when you claim them.

Estimated APY can change and is not guaranteed. Your Alpha balance may grow while its value in TAO rises or falls.

Read “How to stake TAO in a subnet” →

Check:

• The connected wallet and network
• The TAO amount
• The destination address or subnet token
• The subnet and validator, when shown
• The estimated output and fees
• The request shown by your wallet

A fee-bearing transaction pays a network fee based on its computational weight and encoded size. A failed on-chain call does not refund that fee. Service-subnet swaps also apply the pool fee shown in the quote.

Keep enough liquid TAO available for the network costs you expect to pay.

PotaTao is a non-custodial interface. It never asks for your recovery phrase or takes custody of your TAO, Alpha or wallet keys.