Bittensor (TAO) leads AI token rally with 160%+ monthly gain

Artificial intelligence-based tokens led by Bittensor (TAO) displayed strength on Oct. 7, rising 16% over the last 24 hours to trade at $637. TAO is trading 7.5% higher than its price seven days ago and has gained a whopping 164% over the last 30 days.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that Bittensor’s recovery began on Sept. 7, rising 207% from a low of $220 to a six-month high of $678 on Oct. 7. This is just 13% shy of its $767 all-time high reached on April 11. 

Accompanying TAO’s price growth is an uptick in its trading volume, which has increased by 286% between Sept. 7 and Oct. 7, suggesting increased trader interest in the AI-themed token. Similarly, its market capitalization has jumped from $1.7 billion, rising 171% to $4.7 billion over the same period, cementing its position as the second largest AI-based token.

Let’s dig into what is fueling Bittensor’s rally.

Grayscale’s Decentralized AI Fund boosts TAO price

TAO’s price surge comes as it gains importance in Grayscale’s Decentralized AI Fund. On July 17, Grayscale, a US-based crypto asset management company, announced the launch of a new investment product dubbed the Grayscale Decentralized AI Fund that would derive value from the price of native tokens of decentralized AI protocols including Bittensor’s TAO. 

Two weeks ago, Grayscale increased TAO’s allocation in the portfolio from 2.6% to 27.6%, almost at par with Near Protocol. By Oct. 4, Bittensor’s allocation stood at 29.5%, slightly surpassing that of NEAR which came in second with 29.15% of the fund’s total holdings. These recent changes in allocation added to the momentum behind TAO’s breakout from the pack. 

TAO price rallies as AI tokens recover

TAO is not the only AI-themed token outperforming the crypto market today. Other cryptocurrencies in the AI sector have witnessed impressive gains in the past month, including Near Protocol (NEAR), Internet Computer (ICP), and The Graph (GRT), which have seen over 42%, 17% and 28% gains, respectively, in the past 30 days.

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) has also seen significant gains, up 42% over the last month as the community votes on a process that may see CUDOS join Fetch.ai, SingularityNet and Ocean Protocol in the ASI alliance. 

Notably, the surge in AI tokens has also been accompanied by an increase in their total market value. Additional data from CoinMarketCap shows that the market capitalization of AI and big data crypto projects and tokens has surged by 48.7% over the past four weeks to $36.9 billion at the time of publication, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the sector.

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Investors turn bullish on AI, Bitcoin and crypto again

TAO price mirrored Bitcoin’s (BTC) price recovery, which has seen it jump 21% between Sept. 6 and Oct. 7. At the beginning of September, the market was negatively impacted by investors’ fears of a global recession and weak jobs data in the US. 

Data from Alternative, a platform that analyzes “sentiment and emotions” around cryptocurrencies revealed that the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped into the “extreme fear” zone at the time.

However, sentiment returned to “neutral” as markets began recovering and crypto investors sought to recoup losses. 

As a trending narrative, AI keeps returning in 2024, despite altcoin and token drawdowns experienced along the way. The real-life usage of generative AI and LLM puts more attention on the available physical infrastructure and shared GPU that some of the projects provide, increasing investor interest in the underlying tokens.