Bittensor, a decentralized open-source machine learning network launched in 2021, will undergo its first token halving on December 14. This event halves daily issuance of its native token TAO from 7,200 to 3,600 tokens, advancing toward a 21 million token supply cap modeled after Bitcoin.
The network operates through specialized subnets that create marketplaces for AI services by incentivizing participation. Each subnet functions independently, fostering development in various AI domains. This structure has driven the ecosystem’s growth since inception, as developers integrate blockchain incentives with artificial intelligence applications.
Grayscale Research analyst William Ogden Moore described the halving as a key milestone in the network’s maturation as it progresses toward its 21 million token supply cap. This fixed limit aligns Bittensor with Bitcoin’s supply mechanism, where issuance decreases over time in predetermined cycles.
Digital-asset investors and network participants regard the hard-capped supply as a potential value catalyst. In scenarios of increasing adoption and rising token demand, the finite issuance contrasts with pre-mined tokens or fiat currencies that permit unlimited supply expansions.
Cointelegraph covered Bittensor in May through a discussion with Chris Miglino of DNA Fund. Miglino explained the fund’s focus on AI compute initiatives within the ecosystem. He stated, “The biggest thing that we’re working on in the whole ecosystem is our AI compute fund, where we’ve been entrenched into the TAO ecosystem.” This involvement underscores the fund’s commitment to enhancing computational resources for Bittensor’s operations.
Grayscale characterizes Bittensor’s subnets as a Y Combinator for decentralized AI networks, with each subnet resembling a startup that develops targeted products or services in AI. CoinGecko records over 100 active subnets, collectively holding a market capitalization exceeding $850 million. Taostats provides a more extensive tally, listing 129 subnets with a total market cap approaching $3 billion.
These valuations represent substantial increases from the network’s early days, as documented by Grayscale Research. The growth reflects broader interest in decentralized AI solutions. Among the prominent subnets, Chutes delivers serverless compute capabilities tailored for AI models, enabling efficient execution without dedicated infrastructure management. Ridges concentrates on crowdsourcing efforts to advance AI agent development, aggregating contributions from multiple participants to refine intelligent systems.
This proliferation of subnets highlights escalating demand for decentralized AI infrastructure. Developers actively construct and expand AI products and applications, necessitating robust, distributed computing environments. As Miglino noted to Cointelegraph, decentralized AI stands as blockchain’s most significant application since Bitcoin, propelled by this surging demand for innovative AI tools.
Venture capital has increasingly targeted Bittensor subnets. Inference Labs secured a $6.3 million funding round to bolster Subnet 2, which establishes a marketplace dedicated to verifying AI inference processes. This platform ensures accuracy in model outputs, supporting reliable AI deployments across the network.
Separately, xTao, a developer of infrastructure tools and services for the Bittensor ecosystem, commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in July. As a newly public entity, xTao aims to provide essential support for ecosystem expansion, including software and operational enhancements.
