When Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang talks about the future of energy and AI, people tend to listen. And according to Grayscale Investments, there's already a cryptocurrency making his vision a reality: Bittensor.

Energy, Crypto, and AI Walk Into a Bar

Grayscale pointed to remarks Huang made at the Bipartisan Policy Center back in September 2024, where he explored how cryptocurrency intersects with energy and artificial intelligence. The Nvidia chief started with Bitcoin (BTC) mining as an example, noting how the process takes "excess energy" and stores it into something new.

But Huang didn't stop there. He extended the concept to data centers and high-performance computing. The idea? "Transfer that energy, compress it into an artificial intelligence model. Take that model all over the place to use it," he said.

Grayscale seized on that comment in a post on X, adding a simple but pointed message: "Bittensor is real and available now."

What Makes Bittensor Different?

TAO is the native token of Bittensor, a protocol designed to power a decentralized, blockchain-based machine-learning network. Think of it as an open-source marketplace where AI models can be shared, trained, and ranked according to their value. Contributors get rewarded in TAO tokens for their participation, creating an incentive structure around building better AI.

It's worth mentioning that Grayscale has skin in this game. The asset manager operates the Grayscale Bittensor Trust (GTAO), which trades on over-the-counter markets. In December, Grayscale filed an S-1 with the SEC hoping to convert this trust into a spot exchange-traded fund.

As for TAO itself, the token was trading at $274.33 at the time of writing, down 2.66% over the previous 24 hours. The broader picture is less rosy: TAO has dropped 42% over the past year, reflecting the volatility that comes with speculative crypto assets tied to emerging technology.