Digital Currency Group-backed investment firm Yuma has launched a new fund offering institutional investors diversified access to the Bittensor ecosystem. The company announced that it provides access to Bittensor’s native token TAO and a basket of artificial intelligence-focused subnets through a single investment vehicle.
New investment tool focused on Bittensor
Yuma Total Market Fund aims to give investors access to the broader Bittensor ecosystem without having to select individual subnet tokens. The fund seems to be a step in line with the recent trend of asset managers trying to increase investment products, especially decentralized artificial intelligence themed.
The fund was launched with seed capital provided by an undisclosed principal investor. As an investment company, Yuma is known as a structure that develops corporate products in digital asset and blockchain focused areas.
Bittensor stands out as a decentralized network that supports the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure and applications. There are special subnets within the network that focus on areas such as computing, marketplaces and identity.
Mini dictionary: Subnet refers to a specific section within a larger blockchain or network structure that focuses on a specific task. In Bittensor, these structures are used to run different AI-related services and applications separately.
Yuma argued that the total value of the 128 subnets in the network was over $900 million. In comparison, network tracking platform Taostats puts the combined subnet value closer to $300 million. TAO’s market value is approximately 2.4 billion dollars.
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Number of subnets | 128 |
| Yuma’s subnet value estimate | over 900 million dollars |
| Taostats data | Approximately 300 million dollars |
| TAO market cap | Approximately 2.4 billion dollars |
Yuma Total Market Fund aims to simplify the investment process by offering access to the TAO token and its AI-driven subnet basket through a single tool.
Institutional interest and ETF applications
Institutional interest in the Bittensor ecosystem has increased as the network’s subnet economy has grown. Grayscale increased its TAO weighting in the Grayscale Decentralized AI Fund to 43 percent in its quarterly rebalancing in April. While this rate later decreased to approximately 20 percent, the fund’s largest position was Near Protocol’s NEAR token with approximately 44 percent.
Asset managers are also taking new steps to expand investors’ access to TAO. Bitwise filed a TAO Strategy ETF application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC in April. Grayscale, on the other hand, has filed an updated registration application to convert its existing Bittensor Trust structure into a spot TAO ETF that will be traded on NYSE Arca if approved.
Zach Pandl, head of Grayscale research unit, noted that dependence on centralized artificial intelligence providers carries risks, so they expect demand for decentralized alternatives such as Bittensor and TAO to increase.
Anthropic restrictions bring decentralized AI back to the fore
The decentralized artificial intelligence approach distributes artificial intelligence infrastructure and computing power to blockchain-based networks instead of a single provider. This model received renewed attention after the US Department of Commerce suspended open access to Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for national security and export control reasons.
Zach Pandl emphasized that the step in question makes visible the risks posed by central control in artificial intelligence. Pandl predicts that demand for decentralized artificial intelligence projects such as Bittensor and TAO may increase as investors look for alternatives.
On the other hand, there were signs of loosening the restrictions. The U.S. Department of Commerce reopened access to Mythos 5 on Friday. The Trump administration is expected to allow Anthropic to restart open access to its Fable 5 model as early as next week, Axios wrote.
