Bitwise and Grayscale File for Bittensor ETF With SEC: Is TAO Primed for a Major Rebound?

Two heavyweight asset managers just placed a massive institutional bet on artificial intelligence's favorite crypto.

Bitwise and Grayscale filed paperwork with the SEC for spot Bittensor (TAO) exchange-traded funds. The move signals a pivotal shift—Wall Street is officially courting the decentralized AI narrative. It's a play that cuts through the noise of meme coins and positions TAO not just as another altcoin, but as a foundational tech bet wrapped in an ETF.

The Institutional Stamp of Approval

Forget vague promises of 'utility.' This filing is concrete. It represents a direct pipeline for traditional finance capital to flow into the Bittensor ecosystem, bypassing the technical hurdles of direct custody and on-chain staking. Grayscale's conversion playbook from trust to ETF, proven with Bitcoin, now sets its sights on AI's tokenized compute layer.

Is TAO's Downtrend Over?

The timing isn't random. The filing lands as TAO consolidates after a brutal market-wide correction. Historically, similar SEC filings have acted as powerful sentiment catalysts, even before approval. This isn't just a rumor; it's a documented, regulatory-step one. It reframes the asset from a speculative crypto-native token to a candidate for a CUSIP number and a spot in a wealth manager's portfolio—arguably the highest form of flattery in finance, right behind a massive, fee-generating product.

A New Battleground for ETFs

The race isn't just about Bitcoin and Ethereum anymore. Bitwise and Grayscale are effectively scouting the next frontier, betting that AI and decentralized machine learning will command a premium. Their simultaneous filing suggests a consensus view that this sector is ripe for financialization. It’s a cynical but accurate truth: in modern finance, an asset hasn't truly arrived until it's been securitized, wrapped in fees, and offered to retirees in a tax-advantaged account.

The filing throws a lifeline to the TAO chart and declares open season on AI crypto assets. The rebound thesis just got a multi-billion-dollar endorsement.

The institutional demand for Bittensor (TAO) is on the rise in tandem with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). On Tuesday, Grayscale Investments and Bitwise filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer spot TAO exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Bittensor ETF in 2026 Amid AI Boom

According to the preliminary prospectus, Bitwise Investments filed with the SEC to offer 11 spot crypto ETFs. Among the 11 applicants is the Bitwise TAO Strategy ETF, which will invest 60% of the funds in TAO and the rest in an ETP directly invested in TAO.

On December 30, Grayscale Investments also filed an S-1 with the U.S. SEC to convert its Grayscale Bittensor Trust into an ETF traded on NYSE under the ticker GTAO. At press time, the Grayscale Bittensor Trust had a total of $7.9 million in assets under management. 

Grayscale filed an S-1 for $GTAO, which WOULD be the first Bittensor $TAO ETP in the U.S.

Decentralized AI is developing quickly and @Grayscale is pioneering access https://t.co/sYT9vAudOO

Why Now?

The strategic application for the spot TAO ETFs is a result of the rising demand for AI-related products globally. The TAO token is the fuel for the Bittensor ecosystem, which involves rewards for miners and validators.

The demand for TAO has also surged significantly in the recent past after the Bittensor network underwent a halving of its inflation in mid-December 2025. With dozens of AI projects already running on the Bittensor network, the TAO coin has grown to a market cap of about $2.3 billion 

What’s Next for TAO Price?

The strategic filing of spot TAO ETFs with the U.S. SEC has a direct bullish impact on the altcoin. According to market data from TradingView, the TAO price surged 1.1% to trade at about $221 on Tuesday during the late North American session.

https://x.com/satoshiflipper/status/2006112919772131766?s=46
From a technical analysis standpoint, TAO price is well-poised to rebound after retesting the current demand zone three times in the past two years. Crypto analyst Satoshi Flipper believes that the TAO price will more than triple to hit $700 I 2026.