# Staking in dTao Staking tao/alpha is how investors earn yield. _Source: https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/staking/staking-in-dtao_ _Last reviewed: 2026-09-23_ Staking tao/alpha is how investors earn yield. > [!NOTE] > Staking with taostats > > See [Staking Instructions](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/understanding-taostats/accounts/staking-instructions) for a number of pages describing how to stake using Taostats. Staking plays a principal role in the functioning of the Bittensor network. In February 2025, the dTao release gave stakeholders additional power: staking into a subnet increases the emissions of the subnet. ## Staking Options in dTao, there are two options for staking: * [Staking to root](#staking-to-root) * [Staking to a Subnet](#staking-to-alpha) ## Staking to root Staking to root uses only tao. Your tao is staked on a root validator, and you receive returns based on the validator's performance in the subnets. Staking to root is a `safe` staking option — your staked tao cannot lose value, though rewards you haven't claimed yet are held as subnet alpha and move with subnet prices. However, root staking decreases over time [by design](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/how-emission-works/stakeholder-emissions-root-vs-alpha), as the root proportion decreases on all subnets. ### Root rewards under Root Reborn Root dividends are handled by **[Root Reborn](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/protocol-changes/root-reborn/explainer)**, live on mainnet (subtensor `spec_version` 441). It replaced the earlier auto-compounding and "keep vs. swap" claim options — there is **no auto-claim**. Instead, each root validator runs a **basket**: your root dividends are no longer sold — they stay as the subnet alpha they were earned in and are held in the validator's basket as compounding subnet-alpha exposure until you redeem. The validator can reshape the basket by trading, within guardrails. You pick a validator on its basket, not just its take rate. Your balance no longer rises on its own. To realise rewards you make a single manual **`claim_root`** call (prefer **`claim_root_with_hotkey`** for one validator), which values your basket shares at current NAV and swaps them **to TAO** (there is no "keep as subnet alpha" redemption). Claiming costs a fee billed at a fixed runtime fee allowance (~τ0.0082; light claims can refund lower) — prefer a concentrated basket and claim infrequently — and switching or unstaking doesn't forfeit what you're already owed; it stays claimable on that validator's basket. For the full mechanics — the basket, how shares accrue, fees, and per-participant impact — see **[Root Validator Baskets](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/staking/root-validator-baskets)** (the short canonical reference) and the [Root Reborn explainer](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/protocol-changes/root-reborn/explainer) and [TL;DR](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/protocol-changes/root-reborn/tldr). Root dividends accrue to your basket continuously — each time a subnet your validator earns on runs its epoch — but they only reach your balance when you make the manual claim. ## Staking to alpha This is the new feature and primary goal of dTao - to enable stakeholders to vote and determine the emissions for every subnet. To stake in alpha, tao is exchanged via the [Subnet Pools](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/subnets/subnet-pools) into alpha. This will incur [Slippage](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/staking/slippage). The received alpha is then staked to the validator selected. Your returns will be in alpha, and autocompounded to the validator hotkey. Because alpha staking trades through a subnet pool, it can be front-run by MEV bots that worsen your slippage. Taostats protects alpha stake/unstake transactions with [MEV Shield](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/chain-runtime/mev-shield), which encrypts the transaction so bots cannot read or front-run it. Staking to alpha *does* incur risk: a drop in alpha token price will result in a lower amount of tao when unstaking. Emission is awarded every 360 blocks (approx 72 minutes). > [!NOTE] > **No unbonding period** > > Unstaking is immediate — there is no lock-up or unbonding delay. As soon as an unstake settles, the resulting tao is in your free balance and spendable right away. (The exception is [conviction locks](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/chain-runtime/conviction-v2): alpha locked in conviction **cannot be unstaked** while the lock is active — your total staked alpha on the subnet must stay at or above the locked amount. Only alpha held *above* the locked amount is unstakable.) ### Staking fees For all staking transactions there is a small extrinsic (transaction) fee charged by the chain. Taostats currently does not allow staking every last tao — it leaves a small amount behind to cover the fee for the eventual unstake transaction. #### Root There is no **additional** staking fee to stake or unstake from root — only the standard chain extrinsic fee applies. #### Subnets * Staking and unstaking through a subnet pool carries a fee that defaults to **0.05%** of the stake/unstake value. * This can be changed by the subnet owner, so read the current value before you stake. #### Get the current fee (and price) for a subnet The live pool endpoint [`GET /api/dtao/pool/latest/v1`](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/api-reference/subnet/get-pool-latest) returns the subnet's current **`fee_rate`** (staking/unstaking fee) along with its **`price`** in TAO. Pass the `netuid` for the subnet you want. ### Moving stake The move stake command can be used to switch validators in a subnet. Under the hood, this is an unstake, and then staking. However, only one fee is charged. There are three distinct operations for relocating an existing position — they are easy to confuse: * **Move** (`move_stake`) — re-delegate a position to a different hotkey and/or a different subnet. You keep ownership. Moving across subnets swaps through both pools and incurs slippage on each leg. * **Swap** (`swap_stake`) — move a position to a *different subnet* on the *same* hotkey. Both legs (sell on the origin pool, buy on the destination pool) can incur slippage, and the two subnets must differ. * **Transfer** (`transfer_stake`) — hand the position to **another coldkey**. After this, that coldkey controls and can unstake the funds — not you. This is a transfer of value and is **irreversible**; double-check the destination address. ### Unstaking everything at once The "unstake all" operations sweep your entire stake on a hotkey in one call, but they behave differently from a normal unstake and have two things worth knowing: * **No slippage protection.** Each pool swap executes at the current price with no limit, so large positions can incur significant slippage. * **Silent skips.** Subnets where subtoken trading is disabled, or where a position is dust below the chain minimum, are silently skipped — the call can *succeed* while leaving some stake untouched. `unstake_all` returns everything to your free tao balance; `unstake_all_alpha` sells your alpha positions and restakes the proceeds as tao on root (netuid 0), keeping the funds staked. ### Root or subnet — which should I stake to? * **Root** uses only TAO and your staked TAO carries no price risk (unclaimed rewards are held as subnet alpha), but its returns decline over time [by design](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/how-emission-works/stakeholder-emissions-root-vs-alpha) as subnets take a growing share of emissions. Rewards are realized on a manual `claim_root` (see [Root Validator Baskets](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/staking/root-validator-baskets)). * **Alpha** (subnet) staking buys a subnet's token, which can appreciate or depreciate against TAO — higher potential return, higher risk, and it incurs [price impact](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/concepts/staking/slippage).