TAO, the native token of Bittensor, climbed to $350 on March 25, its highest level since November 2025. At press time, the token showed $887.8 million in 24-hour trading volume, a daily gain of 12%, and a 25% increase over the past seven days. Based on a circulating supply of 9.6 million TAO, Bittensor’s market capitalization stood at $3.35 billion, placing it among the stronger performers in the top 100 digital assets by market value over the last day.
The move came as traders tracked several drivers at once: faster subnet growth, rising staking data across the network, and the impact of Bittensor’s first halving. TAO had already reclaimed the $300 level earlier in March. At that stage, market data had also pointed to buying pressure and a short squeeze. Another catalyst cited in the report was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioning the Covenant-72B model during an appearance on the All-In Podcast.
Subnet activity and staking expanded sharply over the past year
According to CryptoRank, the total amount of TAO staked across Bittensor subnets increased from roughly $74,400 to more than $620 million over the past 12 months. The rise reflected broader participation as more users moved into subnet-related activity, a core part of Bittensor’s decentralized AI network.
Subnet count also moved higher during the same period, rising from about 80 to more than 120. Several subnet projects posted notable monthly gains: Templar was up 171%, Quasar rose 146%, NOVA added 66%, Targon gained 36%, and iota advanced 29%. Those figures showed that attention inside the ecosystem was not limited to the main token price. Capital and activity were also building at the subnet level.
Most TAO remains outside subnets, leaving room for internal rotation
Even with the jump in subnet staking, a large share of TAO still has not moved into subnet allocations. Mark Jeffrey, partner at Bittensor Fund and Stillcore Capital, said only 19% of TAO is currently staked in subnets, while about 48% remains in Root. He said, “Once the first subnet zooms to $1B+, I expect Root stakers will start rushing into Subnets. Even if NO NEW TAO is bought, Subnets could 3x or 4x just because of that alone.”
That comment pointed to a possible shift inside the network rather than a need for fresh outside buying. For market participants, the staking split between Root and subnets has become a closely watched signal alongside spot price action.
First halving cut emissions in half and tightened supply
CoinGecko said TAO’s gains followed Bittensor’s first halving event, which reduced token emissions by half. That created a new supply-side factor just as the ecosystem was showing stronger subnet growth. Traders were left weighing two visible changes at the same time: lower issuance and expanding network participation.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe also reacted to the move, writing, “What an absolutely wonderful morning with the strength of $TAO. Again; it's in a new bull run, higher lows, higher highs. Next area of resistance: $500.” At the time of publication, TAO was still trading near $350 as the market continued to price in post-halving supply changes, subnet adoption, and possible staking rotation within the ecosystem.