Stenobird

Episode

Bittensor Drama! TAO down 15%! | E2274

Podcast
This Week in Startups
Published
Apr 11, 2026
Duration seconds
4914
Processing state
processed
Canonical source
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thisweekinstartups/episodes/Bittensor-Drama--TAO-down-15---E2274-e3hntu7
Audio
https://anchor.fm/s/7c624c84/podcast/play/118273415/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-11%2F421829010-44100-2-6d037255e0a8.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/this-week-in-startups/episodes/bittensor-drama-tao-down-15-e2274
Markdown
/podcast/this-week-in-startups/bittensor-drama-tao-down-15-e2274.md

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Summary

The Bittensor network faces instability following Covenant AI's controversial departure from its subnets. The episode also explores AI-driven video upscaling and practical implementations of Andrej Karpathy's 'council of models' concept.

Topics

  • Bittensor
  • TAO
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Crypto Markets
  • Video Upscaling
  • Claude AI
  • Decentralized Networks
  • Subnets

Highlights

  • Main idea: The departure of Covenant AI from Bittensor subnets caused a significant drop in TAO value
  • Practical takeaway: Use Claude personas to simulate a 'council of advisors' for business and life decision-making
  • Technical insight: Bittensor subnets create a competitive marketplace where providers outdo each other to lower costs
  • Failure mode: High-profile project defections can trigger market volatility and community distrust in decentralized networks
  • Practical takeaway: AI-driven video upscaling can significantly reduce the cost of high-quality video processing

Chapters

  1. 1:00 AI Productivity Tools: A brief look at using Plaud for automated meeting and interview recording.
  2. 7:20 Bittensor Network Volatility: Analyzing the recent price drop in TAO and the impact of Covenant AI leaving the network.
  3. 13:30 AI Video Processing: Gareth Howells discusses how Subnet 85 uses AI for efficient video compression and upscaling.
  4. 19:30 The Value of Upscaling: A demonstration of how AI can transform grainy, old footage into high-quality video.
  5. 25:50 Decentralized Computing Power: Exploring the competitive nature of Bittensor subnets and the use of open-source models.
  6. 32:00 The Future of Low-Cost Labor: A discussion on how decentralized networks could drive the cost of specialized services toward zero.
  7. 44:20 Implementing a Council of Advisors: Ole Lehmann demonstrates building a multi-persona advisory system within Claude using Karpathy's concept.