Ctrl K

Level 1How Bittensor works10 lessons
Subnets, the people in them, and the chain that pays them.
Level 2Your wallet9 lessons
The keys that own your TAO, and how to keep them safe.
Level 3Staking8 lessons
Backing a validator with your TAO, and what it earns.
Level 4Subnets5 lessons
Who runs a subnet, who joins it, and how ownership can change.
Level 5Emissions7 lessons
Where new tokens come from, and who receives them.
Level 6Subnet lifecycle4 lessons
How subnets start, how they end, and what it means for the people holding their alpha.
Level 7Root4 lessons
How staking on root earns, since Root Reborn.
Level 8How rewards are decided5 lessons
How validators' scores turn into payments.
Level 9Validators5 lessons
What validators do, how they qualify, and what to look at when choosing one to stake with.

What is TAO?

TAO is Bittensor's own token. There will never be more than 21 million TAO.

TAO can be split into very small amounts. The smallest unit is called rao, and one TAO is one billion rao. Most screens show TAO, but some tools and explorers show amounts in rao.

TAO has three main jobs. You pay small transaction fees in TAO. You can stake TAO, which means backing a validator or a subnet in return for a share of its rewards. And every subnet has a pool that holds TAO, which is how the price of that subnet's own token is set.

New TAO is created with every block and sent into the subnet pools. That is how the network pays for the work.