TL;DR
- Idea: Bittensor is a decentralized blockchain-based AI protocol that creates a peer-to-peer marketplace for machine intelligence, where models and compute resources are ranked and rewarded in TAO tokens.
- Catalyst: The project’s first halving in December 2025 reduced TAO emissions by 50%, aligning with a scarcity narrative and spurring institutional interest, including Grayscale's TAO Trust.
- Risks: High market cap limits upside, complexity and regulatory uncertainty around AI and blockchain integration may hamper adoption, and competition from centralized AI services presents challenges.
- Score: 8.00/ 10
Coin
- Name/ Ticker: Bittensor (TAO)
- Segment: Layer 1 (L1)
- Status: Active
- Price: $284.970000
Key Metrics
- Market Cap: $2 735 023 594
- FDV: $5 984 428 167
- Circulating Supply: 9 597 491
- Total Supply: 21 000 000
- Inflation: 13.00%
Sources
Technology
- USP: Decentralized, blockchain-based peer-to-peer intelligence market incentivizing AI model contributions via tokenized rewards
- Core Technology: Custom Proof-of-Intelligence consensus algorithm with dynamic inflation, subnet-specific staking tokens (dTAO), and a halving schedule for token scarcity
Roadmap
- 2025-02-14: Dynamic TAO (dTAO) protocol upgrade
- 2025-06-15: Subnet cap introduced for network quality and security
- 2025-10-01: Subnet deregistrations (pruning) begin for underperforming subnets
- 2025-11-05: Launch of Bittensor EVM compatibility enabling dApp and DeFi use
- 2025-12-14: First TAO halving event reducing emissions by 50%
- 2026-03-31: Subnet mechanism overhaul (rotation & fee burn) planned
Team & Investors
Team
- Founder — Yuma Rao: Researcher and protocol designer; author of Bittensor whitepaper and AI economics expert
- Co-Founder — Jacob Robert Steeves: Former Google machine learning engineer; studied CS and math at Simon Fraser University
- Co-Founder — Ala Shaabana: PhD in Computer Science; former researcher at VMware and academic at McMaster University
- CTO — Garrett Oetken: Ex-Safeguard Equipment developer; AI research and technology entrepreneur; founder of Tensor 21
- Blockchain Engineer — Greg Zaitsev: Architect and technical leader at Opentensor Foundation
Investors
- Polychain Capital — OTC • 2025-05-01
- DAO5 — OTC • 2025-05-01
- TAO Synergies Inc — Corporate Treasury Purchase • 2025-07-17 • $10.00M
- Digital Currency Group — Private Placement • 2025-10-13 • $11.00M
- DSV Fund — Seed Fund • $0.10M
Tokenomics
- Utility: Governance, staking, and access to AI market services on the Bittensor network
- Vesting: Daily emission to miners and validators with scheduled halvings; no vesting for team or private sale allocations
- Next Unlock: (0.00% of circulating)
Pros & Cons
Strengths
- Decentralized AI marketplace with open participation
- Fair-launch tokenomics mirroring Bitcoin’s scarcity model
- Active ecosystem with 128+ subnets generating real-world revenue
- Strong developer and GitHub activity
- Institutional interest evidenced by Grayscale TAO Trust
- Dynamic TAO (dTAO) mechanism aligns rewards with subnet performance
- EVM compatibility expands DeFi and dApp integration
Weaknesses
- High market capitalization limits short-term upside
- Complex network design may hinder mass adoption
- Regulatory uncertainty around AI and blockchain integration
- Potential security risks from collusion in subnet mechanisms
- Subnets risk speculative spam without meaningful utility
- Chain-specific block explorer lacks broad integration
- Emissions schedule may deter short-term yield-seeking users
Market Signals (7d)
- CEX volume trend: increasing
- Active addresses trend: increasing
Price Scenarios (target: 2026-07-12)
- Bear: $259.560000 — 7-day low price at $259.56 observed on CoinGecko
- Base: $1 000.000000 — Analysts’ forecast of $1,000 by end of 2025 extrapolated to mid-2026
- Bull: $2 000.000000 — Analysts’ bullish prediction of $2,000 by end of 2026 if institutional adoption continues
How to Buy & Store
CEX
- https://www.coinbase.com
- https://www.binance.com
- https://www.kucoin.com
- https://pro.kraken.com
- https://www.mexc.com
- https://www.gate.io
- https://www.bitget.com
- https://www.lbank.com
- https://www.bitmart.com
DEX
- https://app.uniswap.org
- https://pancakeswap.finance
- https://app.1inch.io
- https://trade.sushi.com
- https://traderjoexyz.com
Storage
- Ledger (https://www.ledger.com)
- Trezor (https://trezor.io)
- SubWallet (https://subwallet.app)
- Talisman (https://talisman.xyz)
- MetaMask (https://metamask.io)
- Trust Wallet (https://trustwallet.com)
Verdict
Bittensor offers a unique decentralized AI infrastructure with strong tokenomics and active development, making it a compelling long-term investment for high-risk investors, though complexity and regulatory uncertainties present notable risks.
Official Links
Source: Coin Research (internal)
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