Bittensor (TAO) Plunges 30% Amid Centralization Allegations Against Co-Founder

TLDR

• Covenant AI announced its departure from Bittensor on April 8, citing centralized control by co-founder Jacob Steeves
• TAO plummeted approximately 25–30% from weekly peaks, sliding from $337 down to the $249–$253 range
• More than $650 million in market capitalization evaporated, accompanied by $9.1 million in liquidated long positions
• Daily trading activity exploded to $1.72 billion on April 10, compared to roughly $500 million seen in early April
• Chart patterns suggest TAO could face an additional 25–45% correction toward the $144–$230 support zone

The Bittensor network’s native cryptocurrency TAO experienced a dramatic selloff this week following explosive allegations from a prominent subnet operator targeting the project’s leadership structure.

Bittensor (TAO) Price

On April 8, Covenant AI declared its complete withdrawal from the Bittensor platform. Two days later, the company’s founder Sam Dare published an extensive explanation detailing the rationale behind this decision.

Dare’s statement accused Jacob Steeves, one of Bittensor’s co-founders, of maintaining unilateral authority over the protocol’s operations. This assertion stands in stark opposition to Bittensor’s fundamental value proposition as a decentralized, permissionless AI infrastructure where competing subnets operate autonomously.

According to Dare’s claims, Steeves independently halted emission distributions to a subnet, overruled subnet administrators within their designated governance channels, and eliminated projects without adhering to documented procedures.

Perhaps most damaging was Dare’s assertion that Steeves weaponized substantial, public token liquidations as “retaliatory” mechanisms to enforce compliance during disagreements. “These weren’t governance actions executed through open consensus mechanisms,” Dare stated. “They represented unilateral decisions by a single individual who never truly decentralized control.”

Dare further suggested that other members of the project’s leadership triumvirate function primarily as “liability buffers” while Steeves operates without accountability.

Market Reaction

TAO experienced a precipitous 25% collapse within six hours following the disclosure, tumbling from $337 to $253. This rapid decline eliminated more than $650 million in market capitalization, reducing the total to $2.57 billion.

Daily trading volume surged to $1.72 billion on April 10, significantly exceeding the approximately $500 million daily average recorded during the month’s opening days. The downturn coincided with a roughly 250% expansion in trading activity, indicating widespread market engagement in the selloff.

Within derivatives markets, long position liquidations totaled $9.1 million, with bullish traders absorbing $9.71 million in total forced closures. Numerous leveraged long positions faced margin calls, intensifying downward momentum through cascading liquidations.

TAO has experienced a modest rebound since bottoming but remains 12.8% lower across the previous seven-day period. Despite recent weakness, the token maintains a 37% gain over the trailing 30 days.

Technical Picture

TAO is presently trading within the 0.382–0.5 Fibonacci retracement zone. Historical precedent shows that in November 2025, a breach below this identical range resulted in losses exceeding 30%. A comparable formation in June 2025 witnessed TAO finding support around the 0.618 Fibonacci level before mounting a recovery.

Price Targets

Should TAO follow the June 2025 trajectory, downside risk extends to the 0.618 Fibonacci support zone approximately $230. If the November 2025 pattern materializes instead, the 1.0 Fibonacci objective resides near $144, representing roughly 45% downside from present price levels.

April 10’s trading volume reached $1.72 billion, marking the month’s peak activity level thus far.