$TAO
should ultimately be valued based on the quality of its subnets and the real economic value they create.
At the moment, $TAO is largely valued like a typical crypto asset, driven by liquidity, sentiment, and short-term flows. But Bittensor is not a typical network. It’s an economic system where subnets function as independent incentivised businesses, each competing to deliver measurable utility, attract demand, and generate revenue. That distinction matters, because it changes how value should be assessed.
Subnets are no longer theoretical experiments. Many are already shipping products, landing partners, and in some cases generating real revenue. Others are close behind with clear routes to market, especially they are incentivised to. As this progresses, value creation will stop being abstract and start showing up in cash flows, buybacks, and direct demand for $TAO within liquidity pools.
That’s the inflection point.
Once subnet generated revenue begins to consistently translate into #TAO buying pressure, through buybacks and capital allocation decisions, the valuation framework shifts entirely. #TOA stops being priced as “an AI narrative token” and starts being priced as the base asset of a growing intelligence economy.
By 2026, I expect this to become impossible to ignore because the economics will be visible were they matter most: on-chain.
When subnets create value, that value flows back into $TAO. When more value flows back into $TAO, demand increases while supply tightens.
That feedback loop is the engine.
And that engine is exactly what propels protocols into a different league.
This is why I believe $TAO’s path into the top 10 won’t be driven by speculation, but by fundamentals finally being priced correctly.
Subnets are the source and #TAO is the beneficiary.