- Barry Silbert’s endorsement of TAO has sparked backlash from Bitcoin purists, who reject comparisons between Bittensor and Bitcoin despite their similar tokenomics.
- Meanwhile, TAO shows strong bullish momentum, with analysts eyeing a potential breakout toward the $460–$500 range if key support levels hold.
Currency Group (DCG) founder Barry Silbert and hardcore Bitcoin maximalists saw the X platform become the arena of a heated debate. Originally, this debate was sparked by Silbert’s public support for TAO, the native token for AI-focused Bittensor.
The controversy began when Silbert likened Bittensor to Bitcoin in terms of tokenomics. Evidently, this comparison didn’t sit well with the Bitcoin community.
Among the likenings that shared according to Silbert include a fixed token supply of 21 million tokens and scheduled block rewards halvings. However, Bittensor has focused into an entirely different purpose.
While Bitcoin was created to act as a store of value and an alternative to fiat money, Bittensor aims to build a decentralized AI network where users can share and monetize machine learning models.
Among the dissatisfied Bitcoin maximalists, Bitcoin advocate Lewis was quick to react. Parker Lewis accused Silbert and macro investor Raoul Pal of being “affinity scammers” for promoting TAO on a podcast episode of The Journeyman.
Silbert clapped back, stating, “calling $TAO a scam is such a lazy attack. Do better.” His defense was bolstered by the fact that DCG subsidiary Grayscale runs a Bittensor Trust managing $8 million in assets, albeit modest compared to its $16.6 billion Bitcoin Trust.
TAO Technical Analysis
Despite the drama, TAO has been showing impressive technical momentum. On April 22, 2025, prominent crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe put the limelight on TAO’s bullish setup. he noted that as long as the token stays above the $260–$280 support zone, a breakout toward the $460–$500 range remains likely.
At the time, TAO was trading at $285, up 5% from the previous day. As of the time of press, the asset is sitting at $365.83, up 11.48% in the last 24 hours.
Technical indicators reinforce this optimistic outlook. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 68, indicating room for growth before hitting overbought territory. A bullish MACD crossover occurred on April 21, while TAO’s price hovered near the upper Bollinger Band—both signaling strong upward potential. TAO’s trading volume surged 30% to 1.2 million tokens, and On-Balance Volume (OBV) rose 15%, suggesting robust buying pressure.
Furthermore, TAO’s performance has been boosted by bullish sentiment across the AI sector, which saw trading volumes in related tokens like $FET and $AGIX increase by 5%. TAO also maintains a high correlation with Bitcoin (0.75) and Ethereum (0.70), indicating that broader crypto market moves could influence its trajectory.
While debates around its legitimacy continue, TAO is undeniably attracting attention. If the token continues to hold above the key resistance range, the path toward $460–$500 looks increasingly plausible—regardless of what the Bitcoin purists say.