# Staking (/docs/guides/staking) Staking backs a validator (a **hotkey**) with your TAO. On a subnet, staking swaps TAO into the subnet's alpha at the pool price; your position's value then follows the pool price and the validator's performance. On the root network (netuid 0) stake stays TAO-denominated. For how the pools themselves work — price impact, fees, MEV — see [staking and pools](/docs/concepts/staking-pools). ## Pick a validator [#pick-a-validator] ```bash btcli query delegates --json # all delegate hotkeys btcli query delegate --hotkey 5F... # one delegate's details btcli query delegate-take --hotkey 5F... # the fraction the delegate keeps ``` The **take** is the fraction of staking emissions the validator keeps before distributing the rest to its nominators. The chain default is 18% (stored as 11796/65535); a delegate can lower it any time with [`decrease-take`](/docs/tx/decrease-take), but raising it ([`increase-take`](/docs/tx/increase-take) / [`set-take`](/docs/tx/set-take)) is rate-limited to once per 216,000 blocks (\~30 days). Read the current value with [`delegate-take`](/docs/query/delegate-take). ## Stake and unstake [#stake-and-unstake] Quote first — staking is a swap, so large amounts incur slippage: ```bash btcli query quote-stake --netuid 1 --amount-tao 100 --json btcli tx add-stake --hotkey 5F... --netuid 1 --amount-tao 100 --dry-run btcli tx add-stake --hotkey 5F... --netuid 1 --amount-tao 100 -w my_coldkey ``` ```python intent = bt.AddStake(hotkey_ss58="5F...", netuid=1, amount_tao=100) await client.execute(intent, wallet) ``` Every stake operation must move at least the chain minimum — by default 2,000,000 rao (0.002 TAO), stored in [`MinStake`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L1047). The chain can also sweep nominations that fall below a nominator minimum (a governance-set fraction of the minimum stake; currently zero, so the sweep is effectively disabled). Exit with [`remove-stake`](/docs/tx/remove-stake), or exit everything at once with [`unstake-all`](/docs/tx/unstake-all). Quote the exit the same way you quote the entry: ```python quote = await client.prices.quote_unstake(netuid=1, amount_alpha=50) # TAO out, fee, slippage await client.execute(bt.RemoveStake(hotkey_ss58="5F...", netuid=1, amount_alpha="all"), wallet) ``` `"all"` resolves to the full position at build time — only the remove-stake variants accept it. To bound the execution price instead of accepting whatever the pool gives, use [`add-stake-limit`](/docs/tx/add-stake-limit) / [`remove-stake-limit`](/docs/tx/remove-stake-limit). Compute the limit from the spot price and your tolerance (see [how money moves](/docs/concepts/money) for the pool mechanics): ```python spot = await client.prices.alpha_price(netuid=1) intent = bt.AddStakeLimit( hotkey_ss58="5F...", netuid=1, amount_tao=100, limit_price_rao=int(spot["price_rao"] * 1.02), # accept at most 2% above spot allow_partial=False, ) await client.execute(intent, wallet) ``` There is no unbonding period: plain unstaking settles immediately, with the TAO spendable at once. The only time constraints in the staking system are conviction locks (opt-in, below) and the rate limits on child and take changes. ## Move positions without exiting [#move-positions-without-exiting] * [`move-stake`](/docs/tx/move-stake) — different hotkey (and optionally subnet). * [`swap-stake`](/docs/tx/swap-stake) — same hotkey, different subnet. * [`transfer-stake`](/docs/tx/transfer-stake) — different coldkey (gives the position away). Pass `--dest-hotkey` to land it on a different hotkey in the same call. ```python intent = bt.MoveStake(origin_hotkey_ss58="5F...", origin_netuid=1, dest_hotkey_ss58="5G...", dest_netuid=1, amount_alpha=25) await client.execute(intent, wallet) ``` Same-subnet moves just change which validator backs the stake; cross-subnet moves swap through both pools and can incur slippage on each leg. ## Inspect what you have [#inspect-what-you-have] ```bash btcli stake show --hotkey 5F... --netuid 1 btcli query stake-for-coldkey --coldkey my_coldkey --json # all positions btcli query stake-value-for-coldkey --coldkey my_coldkey --json # marked to TAO at spot ``` Spot valuation is `alpha × price`, excluding slippage and fees — use [`quote-unstake`](/docs/query/quote-unstake) for what you would actually receive. ## Conviction locks [#conviction-locks] [`lock-stake`](/docs/tx/lock-stake) commits alpha on a subnet as **locked mass** — a floor on unstaking that accrues **conviction** toward a target hotkey over time. Locked alpha keeps earning rewards; locking changes liquidity, not emissions. For a full walkthrough with interactive charts on a worked example subnet, see the [Conviction locks guide](/docs/guides/conviction). Quick reference: * One lock per coldkey per subnet; top-ups add mass, conviction continues. * **Perpetual** vs **decaying** modes — opt in with [`set-perpetual-lock`](/docs/tx/set-perpetual-lock). * The two timescales are governance-set storage values, not fixed constants. On mainnet today [`MaturityRate`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L1654) is 311,622 blocks (\~43 days) and [`UnlockRate`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L1658) is 934,866 blocks (\~130 days) — read them live before planning around either. * Aggregate conviction can trigger **subnet ownership** after one year when total conviction ≥ 10% of [`SubnetAlphaOut`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L1424). * Query with [`subnet-convictions`](/docs/query/subnet-convictions), [`hotkey-conviction`](/docs/query/hotkey-conviction), [`coldkey-lock`](/docs/query/coldkey-lock). ## Root stake and dividends [#root-stake-and-dividends] Stake on the root network earns dividends from across subnets through **baskets**: each root validator runs an escrowed index fund of subnet alpha, allocated per its root weights, and root stakers accrue an entitlement to that fund in proportion to their root stake. Unlike subnet staking, moving TAO in and out of root is not a pool swap: no swap fee, no slippage, no MEV exposure — you subscribe and redeem at face value. See [how money moves](/docs/concepts/money) for the swap mechanics that root positions skip. `btcli` shows root positions in TAO: staked τ is principal on netuid 0, accrued τ is fund yield. List your positions, then claim — either realize accrued yield into stake, or withdraw to free balance: ```bash btcli root list # staked + accrued τ, per validator btcli root subscribe --amount 100 --hotkey 5F... # assets in btcli root claim # pick wallet → validator → claim / withdraw btcli root claim --hotkey 5F... --amount all # withdraw full position btcli root claim --hotkey 5F... # claim accrued into stake only ``` Per-validator payouts below the claim threshold (default 500,000 rao) are skipped and keep accruing — there is no deadline. See [Root Reborn](/docs/guides/root-reborn) for the full basket model, the validator-side curation commands, and migration notes from the retired per-subnet claim system. ## Child hotkeys [#child-hotkeys] A validator can delegate a fraction of its stake weight to **child hotkeys** per subnet with [`set-children`](/docs/tx/set-children). Two reasons to do this: confine a hotkey compromise to a single subnet (one child per subnet instead of one hotkey exposed everywhere), or lend stake weight to another operator without moving stake. The chain enforces: * At most **5 children per netuid**; a child can have multiple parents. Proportions cannot be zero, and any proportion not assigned to children stays with the parent. * Setting or revoking children is rate-limited to once per 150 blocks (\~30 minutes) per hotkey per subnet, and changes only take effect after a cooldown (default 7,200 blocks, \~24 hours) — see [`pending-children`](/docs/query/pending-children). * The child's take ([`set-childkey-take`](/docs/tx/set-childkey-take)) ranges 0–18% and defaults to 0; increases are rate-limited to once per 216,000 blocks (\~30 days). * The parent must hold a minimum total stake (the chain's [`StakeThreshold`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L2489), set by governance — read it live rather than assuming a value). Dividends settle back along the same links: a child hotkey's dividends are split among its parents in proportion to the stake weight each contributed (alpha plus TAO × [`TaoWeight`](/code/pallets/subtensor/src/lib.rs#L1197)), after deducting the childkey take. The deducted take is added to the child validator's own dividends — and since those distribute to the child's nominators like any validator dividends, most of the take flows onward to that validator's stakers rather than its operator. Because stake weight flows without infrastructure, a coldkey can act as a stakeless "validator": hold stake on its own hotkey and childkey-delegate the weight to operating validators, running no machines at all. Inspect relationships with [`children`](/docs/query/children) and [`parents`](/docs/query/parents). ## Automation [#automation] [`set-auto-stake`](/docs/tx/set-auto-stake) makes future rewards on a subnet stake themselves to a hotkey of your choice instead of accumulating unstaked. ## Security [#security] Two habits for meaningful position sizes: * **Bound the price and shield the submission.** These protect against different things: limit variants ([`add-stake-limit`](/docs/tx/add-stake-limit)) cap slippage however it arises, while [MEV-shielded submission](/docs/concepts/advanced#mev-shielded-submission) hides the transaction from front-runners until inclusion. Use both. * **Use delayed proxies, and monitor them.** A leaked zero-delay `Staking` proxy cannot transfer your balance, but it can still drain value by forcing repeated high-slippage stake/unstake round trips that counterparties profit from. Give staking proxies an announcement delay and watch for announcements you didn't make — see [proxies](/docs/concepts/advanced#proxy-keep-the-coldkey-offline).