Grayscale launches regulated Bittensor investment vehicle
Bittensor’s TAO token jumped nearly 10% on Tuesday, climbing above $290 after Grayscale formally introduced the Grayscale Bittensor Trust. This marks one of the first regulated investment products offering exposure to the decentralized AI network, and the rally pushed TAO to its highest level in weeks.
Trading volume topped $230 million in 24 hours as investors reacted to growing institutional interest in AI-linked crypto assets. The timing seems significant, coming after Bittensor’s recent halving event that reduced daily emissions by about 50%.
How the Grayscale trust works
The Grayscale Bittensor Trust allows investors to gain exposure to TAO through a traditional security structure, without needing to directly buy or custody the asset themselves. Shares trade on OTC Markets under the ticker GTAO.
According to Grayscale’s documentation, the trust aims to track TAO’s market price using the Coin Metrics Real-Time Bittensor Reference Rate, minus fees and expenses. As of early January, the trust reported a total expense ratio of 2.5% and a net asset value of $7.96 per share.
What’s interesting here is that Grayscale has already filed paperwork with U.S. regulators to convert this trust into a spot ETF. This is part of their broader push to expand regulated crypto exposure beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bittensor’s changing fundamentals
The launch comes after significant structural changes within the Bittensor ecosystem. In mid-December, the network completed its first halving event, which cut daily TAO emissions roughly in half. This reduced inflation and introduced tighter supply dynamics, making Bittensor’s structure more comparable to Bitcoin’s scarcity model.
Bittensor operates as a decentralized marketplace for machine intelligence, where contributors earn TAO by providing compute and AI services to the network. The protocol has gained attention as investors look for blockchain-based alternatives to centralized AI infrastructure.
Market implications and outlook
With reduced issuance, rising staking activity, and now new regulated access points, TAO’s recent price action suggests markets are reassessing the asset’s long-term positioning. The ETF filing has strengthened the narrative around TAO’s institutional accessibility, though approval timelines remain uncertain.
Some supporters call Bittensor a next-generation Bitcoin for the AI age, though that comparison might be a bit premature. Still, the combination of reduced supply growth and increased institutional access seems to be creating positive momentum.
The move reflects a broader trend of traditional finance firms expanding their crypto offerings beyond the largest assets. For Bittensor specifically, having a regulated investment vehicle could potentially attract capital that previously couldn’t or wouldn’t access the token directly.
It’s worth watching how this develops, particularly as Grayscale pursues the ETF conversion. The 2.5% expense ratio is something investors will need to consider, but for many, the regulatory comfort might outweigh the cost.
