Wallets are used to store and house your tokens. But the term wallet can be used for a few different things in the Bittensor ecosystem.

Wallet application

Wallet applications are the way yo interact with your tao on chain. Think of this as your bank's website. It is an interface to access and interact with the tao on chain.

There are a number of wallet applications that can be used to stake and transfer your tao. The Bittensor Discord has a FAQ listing the wallets that support Bittensor.

You can connect many wallets to the taostats delegation app . Once connected you can add/remove stake to validators using taostats. (Taostats has no access to your wallet - the actions are all performed by the wallet app on chain).

You can also use the Command Line Interface (CLI) to interact with your wallet without using a wallet application.

Coldkey Wallet

The coldkey is your bank account. It is on the Bittensor chain and holds your balance. Your coldkey can be used to transfer funds to other wallets. For this reason, it is essential that your coldkey be kept secure.

See Coldkeys for more detail.

Hotkey

Hotkeys are used on chain. If you run a validator or miner, you use a hotkey (associated to a coldkey). If you stake tao, you are also using a hotkey.

See Hotkeys for more detail.