Grayscale aims to give US investors exposure to Bittensor’s TAO, driving decentralized AI even further into major crypto markets.
The digital asset manager filed an initial S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday for what would be the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded product (ETP) to offer exposure to TAO.
The proposed Grayscale Bittensor Trust, which is expected to trade under the symbol GTAO, would hold TAO directly if approved, giving investors regulated access to one of the largest tokens associated with decentralized AI. TAO currently has a market capitalization of around $2.3 billion, according to data from CoinDesk.
“Today we filed the initial S-1 for Grayscale Bittensor Trust (ticker: $GTAO) with the SEC,” the firm said in a post on X, calling the filing the next step in converting the trust into an ETP.
Barry Silbert, president of Grayscale, wrote in X that the move reflects how quickly decentralized AI is evolving. “Decentralized AI is developing rapidly and Grayscale is a pioneer in access,” Silbert said.
The filing marks the first ETP of its kind in the US for TAO. Previously, Deutsche Digital Assets, a German-regulated exchange-traded products (ETP) provider, said it would list a Bittensor ETP, which will be listed on the Swiss SIX Exchange under the symbol STAO.
Bittensor operates as an open network that uses cryptoeconomic incentives to coordinate machine learning development, rewarding contributors of models and computing power with TAO. The project has attracted attention as investors seek exposure to AI-related crypto assets beyond traditional smart contract platforms.
While approval is not guaranteed, the filing underscores how asset managers are increasingly rushing to package emerging crypto narratives, including decentralized artificial intelligence, into regulated investment products, signaling a growing institutional appetite for the sector.
