Validator baskets

Every root validator runs one basket: a fund of subnet tokens built from its root rewards.

Each epoch, the validator's root rewards arrive as tokens from the subnets that paid them, and they go into the basket. Over time the basket holds a mix of many subnet tokens.

A validator can also shape that mix, within limits. Holdings are public, and no single holding may grow beyond about 1/16 of the basket's value, so a basket stays spread across many subnets.

The holdings sit in an escrow account owned by the chain. It has no private key, so the validator cannot withdraw them for itself.

Your share is a fraction of the whole basket, valued at what selling its holdings would actually return. It follows the value of all the holdings together.

This makes your choice of validator matter. Two root stakers can hold different mixes of subnet tokens, because their validators shape their baskets differently. You can look up a basket's holdings and return before you stake, and your TAO moves to another validator at face value if you change your mind.