Why analysts believe Bittensor’s ‘income desert’ could trigger TAO rerating
Pine Analytics warns that Bittensor's native token TAO, despite recent significant price appreciation, faces a fundamental risk due to its economic model. The analysis indicates that many of Bittensor's AI subnets, like the top subnet Chutes (SN64), are heavily subsidized by token emissions rather than genuine user demand. Without these subsidies, their services would be 1.6-3.5x more expensive than centralized competitors, completely inverting their cost advantage.
The report projects that when emissions halve (estimated late 2026 or 2027), the network will face a critical challenge: either prices for AI services must double, miners will leave due to lower rewards, or the gap between subsidy and actual revenue will widen. This "income desert" scenario, with no verifiable demand data available, could trigger a major reassessment (rerating) of TAO's value as users seek cheaper alternatives and participants exit the network. Despite this bearish fundamental outlook, TAO's market sentiment had recovered to neutral at the time of writing following a substantial short-term price increase.
ambcrypto03/25 05:02