Currently, Bitcoin is being accepted by Wall Street, which seems to contradict its initial concept. Meanwhile, Bittensor is becoming another resistance against centralized capital. This is a very hot trend, and with the growth of AI, everyone is starting to worry about the centralization and consolidation of this technology.
Bittensor and the cryptocurrency named TAO aim to eliminate the centralization of AI services. Although it lost about 53% of its value in 2025, some believe that Bittensor is truly the next-generation Bitcoin for the AI era. However, how realistic are these hopes?
The concept and potential of Bittensor.
The network recently underwent a reward halving on December 15, resulting in fewer new coins being minted into the system. However, the problem is that everyone has heard such stories before.
There are several cryptocurrencies that claim to be 'the next Bitcoin' because there is a chance to profit from such narratives.
However, there may be true value for Bittensor in the long run, even facing obstacles similar to other large crypto projects. The story of Bittensor is not much different from Bitcoin's, as there are many influential figures involved. Yet, new blockchain networks like this can rise to challenge or even change the traditional world order.
Over the years, many influencers have repeatedly said, 'Hold Bitcoin and dump bank stocks.' Even though Bitcoin is now part of Wall Street banks and DAT stocks are traded on the stock market, this narrative still holds true.
One fundamental issue is that AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Deepseek are becoming increasingly large and concerning, so everyone should be aware of their growth.
Distributing artificial intelligence processing tasks and shifting from the proof-of-work mechanism used to solve puzzles to using AI for real-world tasks is the core idea of Bittensor.
Bitcoin has already proven that cryptographic incentives can coordinate a global network of hardware to secure a ledger. Evan Malanga, an executive at Yuma, one of the major supporters of the Bittensor platform, told BeInCrypto that Bittensor has adopted this same mechanism and redirected processing power towards directly beneficial applications in the current world, including training and deploying AI models, applications, and infrastructure.
Another Bitcoin?
However, it should be noted that Yuma is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), which has been one of the supporters of various cryptocurrencies since the beginning, including Bitcoin, Zcash, and Decentraland.
Additionally, it has invested in Coinbase, Circle, and Chainalysis since the early days, with DCG CEO Barry Silbert clearly supporting Bittensor, which may be a positive signal for some.
Bittensor has some features similar to Bitcoin, namely, there are only 21 million TAO units, referencing BTC, and Bittensor also has halving, as in December the reward was reduced from 7,200 TAO to 3,600 per day.
However, instead of using the energy-intensive proof-of-work like Bitcoin, Bittensor employs what is called proof-of-intelligence, where nodes must perform certain tasks to prove their ability to handle AI workloads. The better the quality of the results from the nodes, the higher the chances of receiving rewards in TAO.
Authorized nodes on the Bittensor network will be grouped into subnets, with currently 128 groups, each with different AI expertise.
Each subnet is akin to a niche market for a specific type of AI service. Some subnets focus on image generation, while others emphasize language models, according to Arrash Yasavolian, co-founder of Taoshi, which operates a financial intelligence subnet.
Centralization of power vs. decentralization
Concerns about AI are often linked to a few companies holding too much power, as concentration in any industry often means higher prices and lower quality services for customers, or both may occur simultaneously.
Bittensor aims to make AI more beneficial globally, with a decentralized nature, such as allowing independent node operators to drive subnets to enhance the artificial intelligence capabilities of the system.
AI is redefining the industry in every aspect. Ken Jon Miyachi, CEO of BitMind, which operates a subnet focused on deepfake detection on Bittensor, stated that Bitcoin revolutionized the storage of value, but Bittensor is revolutionizing the entire economy by turning intelligence into a commodity for the whole world.
But how decentralized is this network? On July 10, 2024, the Bittensor network was suspended after an $8 million hack drained funds from wallets, causing the chain to enter a safe mode that continued to create blocks but could not process transactions.
Today, there are still concerns about real centralization, Yasavolian from Taoshi said. The OpenTensor foundation is the only entity responsible for verifying blocks, while the top 10 subnet validators hold about 67% of the total network stake.
Some may argue that the security risks and the ability to shut down the Bittensor network contradict decentralization. However, supporters of this network claim that full decentralization will occur later, becoming a reliable neutrality similar to Bitcoin, which is intended to be a store of value.
The long-term goal of Bittensor is to become a neutral and reliable AI development tool, continuously decentralizing similarly to the evolution of Ethereum, Yasavolian added.
AI warning signs
One way to increase the decentralization of Bittensor and allow for more diverse voices is the group of subnet operators, each of whom invests both time and money into this network, and they, like Yasavolian, also voice their own opinions.
Moreover, the growth of subnets has been very strong; since the beginning of 2025, the number of subnets has increased by 97%, from 65 to 128.
Sergey Khusnetdinov, the AI Director of Gain Ventures, sees the subnet community as crucial to the success of Bittensor.
The result is a self-improving virtuous ecosystem where useful intelligence does not come from a single lab or company but emerges from a global community without limitations.
Today, centralized AI companies are vastly overvalued—OpenAI is valued at $500 billion, Anthropic at $350 billion, and Deepseek from China is rumored to be worth $150 billion. So, how valuable will a powerful AI network like Bittensor be?
Miyachi, the CEO of BitMind, which operates a subnet that detects deepfakes, strongly believes that the Bittensor network may have greater potential than Bitcoin's network in the future.
"The value generated by the Bittensor ecosystem may surpass Bitcoin in the long run," he told BeInCrypto.
This may depend on individual perspectives on centralized AI systems over time or whether anyone will be concerned, but Bitcoin has surged when people reacted to economic instability and centralization failures, such as major pandemics, bank withdrawals, and the devaluation of state currencies.
Perhaps in the future, influencers may say 'long Bittensor short centralized AI.' Who knows? Because sometimes, the future can be stranger than AI can predict.
