Is Q4 shaping up to be the most bullish quarter yet for decentralized AI?
The whole of the AI market has come under increased scrutiny recently. The release of earnings from big tech companies such as Amazon shows just how expensive expanding into AI can be. Their stock dropped nearly 8% in a short span of time, causing over $200 billion to be wiped off their value.
While the stock has since recovered most of its losses, gaining over 11% so far in November, the sell-off was still a major reality check for investors.
This raises an important question: Could growing concerns over Big Tech’s AI spending become a catalyst for decentralized AI networks?
Recently, Bittensor has seen an uptick in momentum as one of its subnets (Chutes) was chosen by Tencent as a launch partner for their new flagship AI model HY4.
What does Tencent’s launch mean for Bittensor?
The key takeaway? Tencent has a combined 1.439 billion monthly active users on their Weixin and WeChat platforms.
Chutes charges $0.525 per million input tokens and $1.5625 per million output tokens. This shows how decentralized AI providers are competing on cost while reaching larger markets.
Notably, the impact is also reflected in the market.
Bittensor’s [TAO] price has risen by more than 3% to trade at $220. This comes after the partnership with Tencent, amid increasing worries about the increasing costs of AI in Big Tech. This raises an important question: Could AI be emerging as a key driver of crypto’s growing divergence from the broader market?
Bittensor turns AI hype into revenue as subnet buybacks pick up
Strategically, Bittensor is positioning itself at the center of the growing AI trend.
The affordable services it offers are becoming more attractive, especially with the new partnership with Tencent that gives access to a whole ecosystem with close to 1.5 billion monthly active users.
This can increase Bittensor’s exposure, allowing for more decentralised AI adoption. So, to track how this trend could impact the wider AI crypto sector, TAO will be a key token to watch.
Interestingly, this momentum is also starting to show up on-chain. The Bittensor-based decentralized AI platform Almanac (SN41) generated $109,440 in fees during October. This is the first time it has exceeded $100k in fees.
The interesting part? Almanac burned 100% of these fees to buy back TAO and SN41 alpha.
Meanwhile, Engy (SN53), a Bittensor subnet dedicated to providing verifiable AI inference for open-source models, has already spent $63,000 on buybacks and token burns.
Together, these developments highlight how growing subnet revenue is translating into direct buying pressure for TAO.
However, the key test will be whether this momentum can translate into real market demand. TAO’s recent 3% rally suggests that investor interest may already be picking up.
So, if more subnets continue generating revenue and using it for token buybacks and burns, Bittensor could build a stronger fundamental case and become one of the strongest plays in the decentralised AI sector heading into 2027.
Final Summary
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Tencent’s partnership with Chutes puts Bittensor in front of nearly 1.5 billion users, boosting its exposure to the AI market.
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Growing subnet revenue and token buybacks are supporting TAO demand, while its 3% rally signals rising interest in decentralized AI.