Key Takeaways
- The TAO token saw a near 100% price increase throughout March, reaching around $317 with a market capitalization exceeding $3 billion
- Subnet 3 on the Bittensor network launched Covenant-72B, a language model with 72 billion parameters trained using over 70 distributed nodes
- Covenant-72B achieved a 67.1 score on the MMLU evaluation, comparable to Meta’s Llama 2 70B performance
- Grayscale submitted an amended S-1 registration with the SEC for a Bittensor (TAO) Trust product
- More than 68% of the total 10.7 million TAO tokens in circulation are currently locked in staking
Throughout March 2026, Bittensor’s native TAO token experienced a remarkable price surge, nearly doubling to reach approximately $317. This significant appreciation propelled the network’s total market capitalization beyond the $3 billion threshold.
This price momentum coincided with a groundbreaking technological achievement within the Bittensor network. The development team behind Subnet 3 unveiled Covenant-72B, an advanced language model containing 72 billion parameters that was trained using more than 70 geographically dispersed nodes.
Covenant-72B achieved a score of 67.1 on the MMLU benchmark, an industry-standard assessment tool for evaluating the capabilities of large language models. This performance positioned the model competitively alongside Meta’s Llama 2 70B.
Many observers viewed this achievement as the first substantial demonstration that decentralized, permissionless artificial intelligence training can deliver results comparable to traditional centralized approaches. Previously, distributed training methods had faced skepticism regarding their efficiency and practical viability due to concerns about speed and coordination challenges.
The leading subnet token associated with this breakthrough, τemplar (SN3), experienced an explosive rally exceeding 400% over the previous month, pushing its market capitalization to approximately $130 million.
Expanding Activity Across the Bittensor Network
Beyond Covenant-72B, other components of the Bittensor subnet infrastructure demonstrated notable progress. Targon (SN4), a decentralized marketplace for GPU computational resources operated by Manifold Labs, announced a substantial six-figure agreement to provide backend infrastructure for Dippy AI, a platform serving 8.6 million active users.
Most people still dismiss Bittensor as an experiment; they're not paying attention to what's actually shipping
i) Covenant-72B just proved decentralized training works at 72 billion parameters
ii) Targon partnered with Intel on confidential compute
iii) Chutes is dominating… https://t.co/xwRxXMKf5J— 0xSammy (@0xSammy) April 1, 2026
The GMCI AI Index, which monitors performance across leading cryptocurrency tokens in the artificial intelligence sector, posted a 48% increase since the beginning of February. Bittensor holds a significant 24.89% weighting in this index and served as the primary contributor to its recent appreciation.
Other major constituents of the index include Render (RNDR) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), with these three assets collectively representing more than 71% of the index composition. However, despite recent positive performance, the index continues to trade 84% below its peak levels from the first quarter of 2024.
Grayscale Advances SEC Registration for TAO Investment Product
On April 3, 2026, Grayscale filed an amended S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a Bittensor (TAO) Trust. This investment vehicle is designed as a passive holding structure that maintains TAO tokens, providing investors with price exposure through tradable trust shares.
⚡️JUST IN: Grayscale files an amended S-1 for its Bittensor ($TAO) Trust, advancing its push to expand institutional access to AI-focused crypto assets. pic.twitter.com/TmtseCAx0e
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 3, 2026
The total circulating supply of TAO tokens stands at 10.7 million. More than 68% of these tokens are currently committed to staking protocols.
As of April 3, 2026, the launch of Covenant-72B and Grayscale’s regulatory filing represent the most significant recent catalysts affecting the TAO token’s market performance.
