TAO Token Causes Tension Between Barry Silbert and Bitcoin Supporters
TAO, the token of blockchain Bittensor, has stirred controversy involving Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert and bitcoin supporters. Key points include:
- Parker Lewis criticized Silbert and Raoul Pal for promoting TAO, labeling them as "affinity scammers."
- Silbert defended TAO, stating that calling it a scam is a lazy attack.
- Grayscale Investments, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, manages approximately $8 million in a Bittensor Trust and $16.6 billion in a spot bitcoin ETF.
Overview of TAO
- Silbert compared Bittensor to Bitcoin, highlighting similarities such as capped supply at 21 million tokens and block reward halving events.
- Bittensor combines blockchain with machine learning, creating a peer-to-peer AI market for sharing and monetizing AI models.
- TAO was released two years ago, experiencing significant price fluctuations, reaching over $700 twice in 2024 before falling to around $200. Recently, it traded around $339.
- Bitcoin's price increased from $22,000 at the start of 2023 to about $90,000 now, with a market cap of approximately $1.8 trillion. TAO has a market cap of around $2.98 billion.