# Get Started with Bittensor Staking on Stakao Start staking TAO in five steps: create an account, connect your wallet, choose a strategy, sign a staking-only permission and follow it live. Last updated: 2026-10-13 Canonical HTML: https://stakao.com/docs/getting-started Raw Markdown: https://stakao.com/docs/getting-started.md Start here: [Start free](https://stakao.com/signup): Create your free account and connect a Bittensor wallet. ## Table of contents - 01. [What you need before you start](#what-you-need) - 02. [How to start staking TAO: the five steps](#five-steps) - 03. [What happens when you activate](#when-you-activate) - 04. [What protects your TAO](#protection) - 05. [Where to go next](#next) ## 01. What you need before you start Three things: a Bittensor wallet, at least 2 TAO in it, and an email address or a Google account. On a computer, use a wallet extension, or scan a QR code with a wallet app on your phone. On a phone, connect a wallet app such as Nova Wallet or SubWallet, or open Stakao inside the wallet app’s browser. The Free plan costs nothing and needs no credit card. The eight Premium strategies need a Premium plan, which starts with a 7-day free trial. - A wallet that works with Bittensor: Talisman, SubWallet, Nova Wallet or Polkadot.js. Your keys stay in the wallet. - At least 2 TAO in the wallet, with at least 0.1 TAO left free to pay network fees. - An email address or a Google account to sign in to Stakao. ## 02. How to start staking TAO: the five steps Setup takes a few minutes, and you sign once. 1. Create your account. Sign up with your email, and Stakao sends you a 6-digit code, or sign up with Google. 2. Connect your wallet. Pick your wallet and approve the connection. The first time, the wallet also asks you to sign a short message that proves you own the address. It is not a transaction and it costs nothing. 3. Choose a strategy. Auto Validators and Smart DCA are free: you pick the subnets, and the split or the schedule. For the eight Premium strategies, an AI agent, a quant score, a market-cap rule or a theme suggests the subnets, and the risk engine protects every position. 4. Sign the staking-only permission. Your wallet shows one request. It lets Stakao stake and unstake for you, and it can never transfer your TAO. 5. Follow it in your dashboard. You see your balances, your positions and what the strategy is doing. You can deactivate at any time. - [Strategies guide](https://stakao.com/docs/strategies): The ten strategies, how to choose one and how to switch. - [Staking permission](https://stakao.com/docs/staking-permission): What Stakao can and cannot do with your wallet. ## 03. What happens when you activate Activation is one signature. After that, the strategy runs without you. While the permission exists, the Bittensor chain reserves a deposit of 0.126 TAO. It moves from your free balance to your reserved balance, your total balance does not change, and it comes back when the permission is removed. Your wallet pays the normal Bittensor network fees for each on-chain action. Stakao adds no fee on top: you pay a flat plan price, and Stakao never takes a cut of your staking rewards. TAO you add to the wallet later is picked up automatically. You do not need to reactivate. - [Root and fees](https://stakao.com/docs/root-and-fees): Root staking rewards, validators and what you pay. ## 04. What protects your TAO On the Premium strategies, a risk engine sits between the suggestion and the trade. The AI agent, the quant score or the basket rule only suggests subnets. It cannot buy, sell or touch your keys. A rules-based risk engine decides what to buy, how much and when to sell. The same rules apply to every wallet. Auto Validators and Smart DCA do not use the risk engine: you decide which subnets to hold and when to leave. A stop-loss limits losses but cannot remove them: in a thin market, a sale can fill below the stop price. Staking and subnet tokens carry risk. Prices move, and you can lose part of what you stake. - [Risk engine](https://stakao.com/docs/risk-engine): Stop-loss, profit lock and how every position is protected. ## 05. Where to go next Pick the guide that matches your next question. - [Staking permission](https://stakao.com/docs/staking-permission): What Stakao can and cannot do with your wallet. - [Withdraw and deactivate](https://stakao.com/docs/withdraw-and-deactivate): Stop a strategy, unstake your TAO and revoke access. - [Troubleshooting](https://stakao.com/docs/troubleshooting): Fix wallet, balance and signing problems. - [Glossary](https://stakao.com/docs/glossary): Plain definitions of the Bittensor and Stakao terms. ## Related Stakao references - [Strategies](https://stakao.com/strategies): Compare the ten strategies and start one. - [How Stakao works](https://stakao.com/how-it-works): Connect, choose and stay protected: the three steps. - [Pricing](https://stakao.com/pricing): The Free plan and Premium, with a 7-day free trial. - [Staking permission](https://stakao.com/docs/staking-permission): What Stakao can and cannot do with your wallet. - [Strategies guide](https://stakao.com/docs/strategies): The ten strategies, how to choose one and how to switch. - [Troubleshooting](https://stakao.com/docs/troubleshooting): Fix wallet, balance and signing problems. ## Related blog articles - [How to stake TAO](https://stakao.com/blog/how-to-stake-tao): A step-by-step guide to staking TAO on Bittensor. - [What is crypto staking?](https://stakao.com/blog/what-is-crypto-staking): The basics of staking, explained in plain words. - [TAO staking calculator](https://stakao.com/blog/tao-staking-calculator): Estimate staking rewards for your own amount.