TAO Reaches New Highs: Which Early Bittensor Ecosystem Projects Are Worth Watching?
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TAO Reaches New Highs: Which Early Bittensor Ecosystem Projects Are Worth Watching?
If you missed TAO but still have a positive outlook on the AI sector and Bittensor, then focusing early on projects within its ecosystem is clearly a higher-risk, higher-reward choice.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: TechFlow
Recently, the AI sector has seen a significant surge, with Bittensor ($TAO), the leading AI-sector cryptocurrency, reaching a market cap of $3.8 billion and repeatedly hitting new all-time highs.
Meanwhile, while TAO's rapid rise may be slowing, ecosystem projects built around Bittensor are still in their early growth stages.
If you've missed out on TAO but still believe in the AI sector and Bittensor, focusing on early-stage projects within its ecosystem presents a higher-risk-reward opportunity.
Therefore, this article explores early projects in the Bittensor ecosystem to uncover potential alpha opportunities.
AIT Protocol ($AIT): Let Users Earn by Training Data
AIT Protocol is an artificial intelligence data infrastructure that provides Web3 AI solutions.
The AIT decentralized marketplace offers millions of crypto users a unique and broad opportunity, with a business model that’s easy to understand:
Allowing them to participate in "Train-to-Earn" tasks, enabling rewards while actively contributing data to train AI models.
$AIT is the native and governance token of the AIT Protocol ecosystem, also serving as the platform currency for Marketplace subscriptions, data processing, AI rentals, and Launchpad services.
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/AITProtocol
Project Website: https://ait.tech/
Token Performance
At the time of writing, $AIT is priced at $0.82, with a current market cap of $40.57 million. Price changes over different periods:
7D: +127%
1M: +370%
1Y: +588%
Judging from market cap and price, AIT appears to have already gained some valuation traction, especially with massive gains over the past month.
Latest Project Updates
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On January 15, AIT Protocol launched the mainnet version of its data annotation platform.
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On February 14, AIT Protocol released its first internal testnet version on its Bittensor subnet. This makes AIT Protocol the first native Web3 project on the Bittensor network.
Being the first project in a crypto ecosystem often comes with first-mover advantages, and AIT's strong token performance has already demonstrated this.
However, I believe AIT's token price might be at a short-term peak rather than the end; as OpenAI's SORA officially opens to users, the crypto market could see another wave of AI-related excitement.
TaoPad ($TPAD): An Incubator Expanding the Bittensor Ecosystem
TaoPad is a cryptocurrency protocol designed to create stronger synergy with Bittensor's native token, $TAO.
As a gateway from Ethereum into the Bittensor network, TaoPad enables $TPAD holders to gain exposure to growing value on the Bittensor network by acting as development agents facilitating activity, with rewards distributed back to holders.
This creates a unique dynamic where the growth and success of Bittensor and $TAO mutually benefit $TPAD holders, establishing a symbiotic relationship between the tokens and their communities.
Additionally, the project introduces a novel reward mechanism, distributing earnings in $wTAO (Wrapped TAO) from multiple revenue streams. This approach aims to build reciprocal value between Taopad and $TAO, enhancing holder benefits and supporting decentralized AI development.
TaoPad is building a DeFi ecosystem for $TAO and has created the first launchpad centered on Bittensor.
Notably, this launchpad isn't limited to BitTensor-related projects—it will prioritize initiatives aiming to expand decentralized AI, creating pathways for projects to connect with broader opportunities beyond the immediate ecosystem.
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaoPadX
Project Website: https://www.taopad.io/
Token Performance
At the time of writing, $TPAD is priced at $11.4, with a market cap of just $12.67 million. Price changes over different periods:
7D: -11%
1M: +107%
1Y: +21%
In terms of price, TPAD underperforms compared to AIT mentioned earlier. This is determined by the nature of the project itself.
TaoPad isn’t directly related to AI; it’s better understood as “an incubator for AI-focused projects,” which naturally lacks the narrative strength of projects deeply tied to AI technology.
However, if you're bullish on Bittensor's growth, TPAD remains worth watching as more ecosystem projects emerge.
Latest Project Updates
On February 16, TaoPad launched its first project, Tao Bank, in three phases, running until UTC 12:00 on February 24. The minimum participation requirement is holding more than 50 $TPAD tokens.
Kizuna ($KIZUNA): Memes Crafted by AI
$KIZUNA is the first token built on Bittensor’s decentralized AI network, inspired by Ryoshi (SHIB founder)'s principles of decentralized minimalism.
Notably, Kizuna’s vision, logo, and related content were generated via BitAPAI—an ChatGPT-like language model built on Bittensor.
In other words, the meme itself was AI-created—making it truly “AI-native” at its core.
Similar to how SHIB uses a Shiba Inu as its mascot, the AI model selected an animal resembling a red-crowned crane. The project’s visual identity is rich with Eastern xianxia (immortal heroes) aesthetics.
Unlike pure memecoins, Kizuna offers actual utility: users can leverage the project’s AI bot for text-to-image generation, adding greater interactivity and virality to the concept of “AI-generated memes.”
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/KizunaToken
Project Website: https://kizunatoken.io/
Token Performance
At the time of writing, $KIZUNA is priced at $0.0000000379, with a market cap of $31 million. Price changes over different periods:
7D: +72%
1M: +201%
1Y: +1290%
Note that memecoins are typically prone to extreme volatility, and long-term success depends on consensus-building and sustained project operations.
OpSec ($OPSEC): A Software Solution Integrating AI, DePIN, and Security
OpSec focuses on cloud security across distributed servers, dedicated networks, RDP, GPU, one-click node setup, DePIN hardware, and more.
More simply, as a decentralized physical infrastructure network provider, OpSec leverages cutting-edge AI technologies to build, maintain, and operate blockchain infrastructure, ensuring security and privacy for blockchain applications.
The project's mission is to explore, implement, and guide the creation of secure, efficient, and decentralized digital ecosystems, addressing current infrastructure limitations and aiming to foster a more democratic, resilient, and secure internet.
Through OpSec Cloudverse, $OPSEC holders can seamlessly access Tensorage miners (Tensorage is a Bittensor subnet focused on storage solutions) via simple one-click setup. OpSec and Tensorage together provide the foundational infrastructure needed to build decentralized storage platforms atop Bittensor.
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpSecCloud
Project Website: https://opsec.software/
Token Performance
At the time of writing, $OPSEC is priced at $0.5, with a market cap of $60 million. Price changes over different periods:
7D: +63%
1M: +301%
1Y: +559%
In terms of market cap, OpSec exceeds AIT. Given its broader applicability and ability to serve multiple blockchain projects, it can be viewed as a B2B product with greater scalability potential.
Latest Project Updates
On February 14, OpSec launched its V2 test version.
On February 18, OpSec announced a partnership with Dmail Network, launching a Subhub channel on Dmail.
Also on February 18, OpSec announced a collaboration with Commune AI, aiming to integrate Commune AI’s multifunctional toolkit into OpSec’s ecosystem.
Additionally, the project is sponsoring this year’s Eth Denver conference. Combined with these partnership moves—releasing new versions, connecting with more projects, and boosting brand visibility—the project's operational rhythm is clear and strategic.
Tao Bank: Unlocking TAO Liquidity, Becoming the MakerDAO of Bittensor
Currently, $TAO holders face a key issue: they lack liquidity without selling their TAO.
This clearly creates a lending demand.
Therefore, TaoBank addresses this need by allowing $TAO holders to use their assets as collateral for loans. TaoBank’s system offers dual benefits: it provides instant liquidity to asset holders while letting them retain ownership of $TAO. In doing so, TaoBank bridges the gap between static holding of digital assets and the financial flexibility enjoyed by other asset classes.
In terms of product design, like most lending and DeFi protocols, TaoBank includes redemption and liquidation mechanisms and uses ChainLink as its oracle.
Additionally, TaoBank has launched TaiUSD ($TUSD), a new overcollateralized stablecoin backed by $TAO. $TUSD will become the first overcollateralized stablecoin backed by $TAO.
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/taobnk
Project Website: taobank.ai
Token Performance:
As previously mentioned, TaoBank’s own token $TBANK is being presold on TaoPad using ETH.
At press time, the seed round has ended. Participants must hold over 1,000 TPAD tokens to join this TBANK funding round. The current TBANK price is 0.000018 ETH.
However, a lower-threshold funding round remains open to those holding more than 50 TPAD tokens.
Tensorplex Labs: Introducing stTAO to Lower the Barrier for Staking TAO
Tensorplex Labs aims to become infrastructure for decentralized AI networks, targeting seamless integration and interaction between DeFi applications and decentralized AI technologies.
Currently, Tensorplex Labs' flagship product is Tensorplex LST, the leading liquid staking solution for decentralized AI network tokens, starting with Bittensor (TAO). It provides users with a simple way to participate in the network and earn rewards through their decentralized AI network tokens.
To stake TAO, users must use a Bittensor-compatible wallet instead of common EVM wallets, creating friction for new users.
Tensorplex LST solves these limitations via stTAO, which can be used across other ecosystems and applications, enhancing flexibility.
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Users can stake TAO directly on Ethereum using EVM-compatible wallets, eliminating the need to set up a Bittensor-specific wallet—offering a smoother staking experience for Ethereum-native users.
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stTAO can be used in DeFi activities, such as providing liquidity to pools or serving as collateral on lending platforms, enabling users to earn additional yield alongside base staking rewards.
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/TensorplexLabs
Project Website: https://www.tensorplex.ai/
Currently, there is no public token information for this project. Interested participants can follow its social media channels for updates.
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