THE NEXT ERA OF
MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
Tracking the deflationary mechanics of the Bittensor network. The halving event reduces emission by 50%, increasing scarcity for the world's neural network.
Network Statistics
At 10.5M Issued Supply
Estimated Dec 2025
Of 21,000,000 Max
Trigger condition
ISSUANCE SCHEDULE
Network History:The first TAO issuance began in January 2021 with the Kusanagi network. The network was halted in May 2021 and relaunched as "Nakamoto" in November 2021 starting from block 0, carrying the previously mined TAO forward. The current main iteration, "Finney," launched in March 2023, but the initial issuance and token creation began with Kusanagi in January 2021.
| Phase | Date (Est.) | Supply Milestone (TAO) | Block Reward | Daily Emission | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis (Current) | Jan 2021 - Dec 2025 | 0 - 10,500,000 | 1.00 TAO | 7,200 / day | Active |
| 1st Halving | Dec 13, 2025 | 10,500,000 | 0.50 TAO | 3,600 / day | Upcoming |
| 2nd Halving | Dec 11, 2029 | 15,750,000 | 0.25 TAO | 1,800 / day | Future |
| 3rd Halving | Dec 08, 2033 | 18,375,000 | 0.125 TAO | 900 / day | Future |
Supply Calculator
TAO Issued
1,380,173
Avg: 3,781 TAO/day
Final Supply
11,747,827
55.94% of max supply
Time Period
365
1.0 years
Supply Breakdown
What is the Halving?
Similar to Bitcoin, Bittensor (TAO) has a fixed supply cap of 21,000,000 tokens. To control inflation, the block reward is cut in half at specific supply milestones.
This "Halving" reduces the rate at which new TAO is created, theoretically increasing scarcity and value over time assuming demand remains constant or grows.
Key Data
- TickerTAO
- AlgorithmProof of Intelligence
Bittensor's consensus mechanism where validators assess the quality and usefulness of AI model outputs from miners. Network participants earn TAO by contributing valuable machine intelligence.
- Max Supply21,000,000
- Halving ScheduleEvery ~4 Years
Frequently Asked Questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Glossary
NETWORK GLOSSARY
Axon
The server side of a Bittensor node. It receives requests from other nodes (Dendrites) and serves data or processing power.
Dendrite
The client side of a Bittensor node. It sends requests to Axons on the network to query information or scores.
Neuron
A node in the Bittensor network. It can act as a Miner (producing value) or a Validator (evaluating value).
Alpha
A dynamic parameter in Bittensor's consensus mechanism (liquid alpha) that adjusts based on validator consensus. It influences the exponential moving average of bonds between validators and miners, affecting dividend calculations and fostering early discovery of high-performing miners.
Alpha Tokens
Subnet-specific tokens earned by validators for their participation in subnet consensus. Alpha emissions follow the same halving schedule as TAO. Validators' stake weight is calculated as their alpha stake plus TAO stake multiplied by 0.18 (tao_weight parameter).
Subnets
Independent specialized networks within Bittensor, each focused on specific AI tasks (text, images, data scraping, etc.). Subnet owners register their subnet and miners/validators compete within it.
Miner
A network participant that produces AI models, predictions, or other valuable outputs. Miners are evaluated by validators who submit performance scores (weights) to the blockchain. These scores determine each miner's share of subnet emissions.
Validator
A network participant that evaluates miners' outputs and assigns performance scores. To qualify, validators must be in the top 64 nodes by emissions with a stake weight of at least 1000. They earn dividends from their alpha stake and TAO stake.
Stake
TAO tokens locked by a Validator to vouch for the quality of Miners. Higher stake gives a Validator more weight in the consensus mechanism.
UID
Unique Identifier assigned to each neuron (miner or validator) within a subnet. UIDs are limited per subnet and must be registered to participate.
Metagraph
A core data structure providing a complete overview of a subnet's state at any block. Includes information about participating neurons, emissions, bonds, trust (VTrust), consensus scores, incentives, and dividends. Accessible via CLI, Python SDK, smart contracts, or RPC functions.
Emission
The creation of new TAO tokens. Currently 1 TAO per block (every ~12 seconds). After the first halving, this rate will drop to 0.5 TAO per block. With Dynamic TAO (DTAO), both TAO and Alpha tokens follow the same halving schedule.
Root Network
Subnet 0. It is responsible for determining the emission distribution across all other subnets based on their performance.
Incentive Mechanism
The protocol that determines how TAO rewards are distributed to miners and validators based on their contributions and stake. Each subnet can implement custom incentive mechanisms.
Recycling
The process where TAO tokens are returned to the emission pool through subnet registration fees, deregistrations, and network operations. Recycled tokens reduce circulating supply, delaying the halving date since halvings are triggered by total issuance, not block number.
Halving
A programmed reduction of block rewards by 50%, occurring approximately every 4 years. Halvings continue indefinitely, progressively reducing new TAO emission until the 21M cap is reached.