Bittensor: The Next Bitcoin? TAO Price Prediction REVEALED!
🎯 Summary
Podcast Summary: Bittensor: The Next Bitcoin? TAO Price Prediction REVEALED!
This 20-minute podcast episode from Coin Bureau provides an in-depth, updated analysis of the Bittensor (TAO) project, exploring its recent technological upgrades, market positioning as the “Bitcoin of AI,” and offering potential price targets. The hosts emphasize that the analysis is educational and objective, noting that the Coin Bureau team does not currently hold TAO.
1. Focus Area
The primary focus is on Bittensor (TAO), a decentralized machine learning network. The discussion centers on its technological evolution (specifically the introduction of subnets and dynamic tokens), its comparison to Bitcoin in the AI narrative, and the investment potential residing within its ecosystem, particularly its subnet tokens.
2. Key Technical Insights
- EVM Compatibility & dTau: Bittensor introduced EVM-style smart contracts in December, facilitating liquidity flow from Ethereum-based chains. The subsequent dynamic Tau (dTau) upgrade created a token for each subnet that trades against TAO, with emissions allocated based on the average value of these subnet tokens, aligning incentives similarly to the structure seen in the early days of the Velo protocol.
- Subnet Architecture: Bittensor operates via subnets (providing AI use cases like image generation), miners (performing computation), and validators (allocating TAO emissions to the most useful subnets). The future roadmap includes allowing subnets to become their own independent chains, validating Bittensor’s decentralized AI framework.
- Decentralization Concerns: Despite the vision, current governance is highly centralized, with only 10 entities voting, and initial subnet operations rely on a small set of validators, indicating decentralization remains a key upcoming milestone.
3. Market/Investment Angle
- Price Prediction Update: The previous prediction of $1,000 by the end of 2025 was close (hitting ~$750). The current range is established between $200 (support) and $750. A breakout above $750 could target $1,300, with a long-term cycle top prediction reaching $5,000.
- Subnet Token Opportunity: The hosts argue that the biggest gains will likely come from Bittensor’s subnet tokens, not TAO itself, due to their significantly lower market caps, offering higher percentage gains on smaller investments.
- Catalyst for Growth: The primary driver for TAO price appreciation is expected to be speculative demand for subnet tokens, which are viewed as more “legit” than previous AI agent tokens because they have VC backing. A potential catalyst for a broader AI speculative wave is linked to developments like Tesla’s self-driving features.
4. Notable Companies/People
- DCG/Humana: Digital Currency Group (DCG) launched a subsidiary, Humana, explicitly to bootstrap the Bittensor ecosystem, aiming to replicate Grayscale’s foundational role in early Bitcoin adoption.
- Co-founders: Jacob Steves (co-founder) clarified that “Humana Rao” (the pseudonymous creator) is a collective name including himself and Alashabana. Steves is noted as a self-proclaimed Bitcoin maximalist.
- VC Backers: Early investors include Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Polychain Capital. DAF 5 recently raised $222 million, potentially for subnet investments.
- Ecosystem Integration: Coinbase listed TAO in February, and TauFi launched a Uniswap V3 instance on Bittensor with a bridge to Base and Ethereum, signaling potential EVM liquidity inflows.
5. Regulatory/Policy Discussion
The discussion touched upon the lack of transparency regarding insider holdings and token distribution. The hosts highlighted that insiders (including the OpenTensile Foundation) hold an estimated 20% of circulating supply. They also noted the deceptive nature of the “no pre-mine” claim, as the team allegedly mined and sold tokens to investors post-launch (a “post-mine”).
6. Future Implications
Bittensor is positioning itself as the blue-chip cryptocurrency within the AI niche. The future trajectory depends on successfully executing decentralization milestones and attracting sustained liquidity from the EVM ecosystem. The project’s success hinges on validating its subnet model, potentially leading to an entire ecosystem of specialized, spin-off blockchains.
7. Target Audience
This episode is highly valuable for experienced cryptocurrency investors, blockchain developers, and analysts focused on the intersection of AI and decentralized infrastructure (Web3). It requires a foundational understanding of crypto concepts like EVM, staking, and tokenomics.
🏢 Companies Mentioned
đź’¬ Key Insights
"Come to think of it, this could be the first ever case of a crypto project launching with a post-mine rather than a pre-mine. As far as we can tell, there's no real difference between the two. They both result in a substantial amount of the supply going to insiders, but perhaps it's some kind of a legal loophole."
"The narrative that Potensile received no VC funding is also arguably a bit deceptive. Yes, there was no pre-mine of Tau, but Steves has literally admitted in interviews that the team mined Tau and sold it to investors after launching."
"Potensile's early investors having at least 600,000 Tau is just the tip of the iceberg. Steves revealed that the OpenTensile Foundation holds 700 to 800,000 Tau. And this means as much as 20% of Tau's circulating supply is held by insiders."
"most subnets will initially be powered by the same set of a dozen validators to begin with."
"only 10 entities currently vote in Potensile's governance, and there are only 70 validators on its blockchain according to Tau stats."
"The first milestone is something Jacob Steves mentioned back in January during the beta testing for dTau, and that's that they want to make it possible for subnets to become their own chains."