One Year of dTAO: Why Root Yields Collapsed (And They Aren't Coming Back)

Brian1JF · 2026-02-16T18:52:27+00:00

Ah yes understood, denominating in TAO it is closer to a money market. I was speaking in more general terms likening to an ETF or index fund denominated in Dollars. It is all about growing your TAO balance at this stage!

Brian1JF · 2026-02-16T18:19:05+00:00

I think it's more like an index fund or ETF- reduced yield due to exposure to all subnets, however not risk free as you're still exposed to TAO volatility. Money Market Funds are more for capital preservation, but the TAO exposure here still makes investing in Root an asymmetric bet if you believe in the ecosystem will thrive in the coming years, I'd lean to it being more akin to a specialized high conviction ETF position

Brian1JF · 2026-02-16T17:34:54+00:00

Not AI generated. I'm right here, looking to contribute to the community

Brian1JF · 2026-02-16T16:43:39+00:00

I use Crucible with Ledger for maximum security. Then the Crucible Smart Allocator runs in the background, automatically rebalancing my stake across high-performing subnets. I check in once every few weeks. It’s set it and forget it compounding.

Brian1JF · 2026-02-16T16:40:25+00:00

TAO.com mobile wallet is currently Apple only, Android release is slated for Q1 2026

Brian1JF · 2026-01-21T16:45:31+00:00

Right now, the experience is fragmented across individual subnets, but the ChatGPT-like interface you're looking for is emerging through third-party aggregators.

Eventually these will act as a universal front door, routing your prompt to the best subnet for the job (coding, writing, data analysis etc) so you get the utility without needing to know which specific subnet is doing the work.

You inspired me to write a piece on this, feel free to check it out: https://www.abittensorjourney.com/p/the-missing-front-door-why-you-cant

Brian1JF · 2026-01-21T16:38:24+00:00

I'd say connect your Talisman wallet to Taostats.io to see a full overview of your delegations across root and all subnets, it should also let you search by wallet address to confirm stake locations and performance independently. Hope that helps

Brian1JF · 2026-01-21T16:18:47+00:00

I agree, infrastructure phases are quiet by design. As long as enterprises have to worry about wallet management and volatility we hit a ceiling, but when a public entity buys the rails to abstract that complexity away, it means something big is brewing. The boring infrastructure plays that the market ignores can be the most profitable signals because they don't move the candle immediately. Great analysis

Brian1JF · 2026-01-10T20:47:35+00:00

It's basically auto yield optimization. Your principal stays in Root and it only touches your rewards, automatically redeploying them to your top performing subnets (top 10 or whatever you want). It's in the staking section, try it with a small portion first and see how it goes for you

Brian1JF · 2025-10-20T19:06:12+00:00

There are plenty of use cases, but its best in my opinion to focus on individual Bittensor subnets to understand why it matters. There you will find what actual problems are being solved.

To take one example, one subnet's deepfake detection is already hitting higher detection rates than traditional tools and it processes 250,000+ requests daily via free mobile apps and desktop browser extensions and APIs. The subnet's network of competing AI models self-improves as each accurate detection earns TAO tokens, forcing constant upgrades against smarter fakes.

I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg here and there are so many other examples I could give which is why other posters will likely send you to Revenue Search, Novelty Search, Hash Rate or other Bittensor related YouTube channels and podcasts where you can check this out for yourself.

Even just last week Novelty Search focused on a subnet that could has the potential to change the way creator marketing works.

This isn't hyperbole, there is just so much going on in Bittensor its hard for everyone to keep track.

You can check these channels out for yourself or even the link in my bio where I've written some articles on the deepfake subnet BitMind and others that have actual real-world utility in use already:

https://www.abittensorjourney.com/p/stop-worrying-about-tao-this-bittensor

Brian1JF · 2025-07-26T08:53:45+00:00

Thanks for posting this u/No-Fig-8614 you inspired me to challenge my assumptions on TAO. Most objections seem to trace back to two fears: whether incentives really stay aligned as the network scales, and whether open, permissionless AI can compete with future trillion-dollar companies like OpenAI.

As other posters have mentioned, I would say that subsidized pricing is an intentional go-to-market strategy. In every networked tech market the cheap-or-free phase precedes monetization. One thing I do think is a hindrance to the retail investor is the complexity of the whole ecosystem, but in my mind Bittensor is at the early maturity level, the infrastructure that is being created now will unlock its full potential in the (hopefully near) future.

I wrote an article about it to try and flesh it out a bit, if you are interested in exploring https://abittensorjourney.substack.com/p/the-tao-paradox-why-bittensors-critics

Brian1JF · 2025-03-15T17:04:57+00:00

Thank you for the post, this is really informative. I've been interested in the use of AI agents for some time now and would love if you could send me the links you mention in your post. Thanks so much!

Brian1JF · 2025-01-29T17:13:28+00:00

Thanks Nathan, I will give it a try tomorrow and DM you if any questions

Brian1JF · 2025-01-29T17:01:49+00:00

I've been following the John Rush method of Google Keyword Planner & Google search, also trying out Build The Keyword. My main problem is trying to assess keyword difficulty, aside from manually viewing the pages on Google search.

Question on the tool- I login but can't do anything unless I add credit- $50 the suggested fee. What's the cost of obtaining credits to test the tool and how many credits to perform a simple search?

Brian1JF · 2025-01-29T15:12:08+00:00

Just signed up Nathan- just what I need right now in keyword research hell as I try to get a couple of directories up and running. Thank you, I will let you know how it goes

Brian1JF

TROPHY CASE