Bittensor Gains Momentum as Pump.fun Falters
Bittensor (TAO) is a cryptocurrency that's gaining momentum in the AI services market. In this article, we'll explore why I'm adding to my Bittensor position this September and avoiding Pump.fun (PUMP).
The main chain of Bittensor issues around 3,600 TAO daily, which is worth close to $316 million annually at its current price near $241. However, most on-chain activity on subnets is being subsidized by Bittensor itself, rather than coming from a viable and self-sustaining ecosystem of services meeting external demand.
This is changing with the V440 upgrade in August, which throttles new TAO issuance to subnets that fall below an average share of demand. As a result, the most productive subnets will get a larger share of value than before, enabling them to scale faster and drive costs down for users.
This could help attract more discerning investors, including financial institutions, from the sidelines.
Pump.fun is a meme coin launchpad on Solana that charges users fees for each coin they launch. While it has returned $354 million to its holders since its debut in 2025 through token burns, I will be avoiding any purchase of Pump.fun due to its shallow economic moat and high competition from other similar platforms.