Digital Currency Group Names New Subsidiary To Promote Bittensor’s Development

Crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) is looking to promote the development of Bittensor (TAO), a decentralized Artificial Intelligence (AI) protocol. The firm aims to achieve this goal through Yuma Group. This outfit will join its list of subsidiaries, including Grayscale Investments.

The Major Bittensor Catch

As the companies announced, Yuma is dedicated to driving development on Bittensor. It hopes to empower developers to create, train, and access AI. The DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert will also lead the new subsidiary in driving its vision to promote AI and crypto integration.

Although the Digital Currency Group first invested in Bittensor in 2021, its relationship has grown deeper since then. The firm said it named Yuma to conform with Bittensor’s “Yuma Consensus” protocol. This smart contract protocol makes it possible to incentivize creator’s participation with the TAO, a token known to weather geopolitical storms.

Through Bittensor, innovators can create Subnets, a marketplace for unique AI/ML services including but not limited to data storage. As a functioning ecosystem, the protocol hosts both miners and validators. While the former contributes computational power to protocol, the latter asseses contibution quality and shares the rewards.

Yuma Group has created an early subnet incubator program from which it can help firms looking to create new AI-focused solutions. Thus far, it has partnered with  Sturdy, Masa and Infinite Games. The Yuma subnet program entered the limelight in collaboration with Foundry.

1/ I’m incredibly proud to introduce @YumaGroup, a new subsidiary of DCG that will support and drive development in the #bittensor $TAO ecosystem by providing builders with everything they need to do so – capital, technical resources, and operational support.

Decentralized AI… https://t.co/CvieGC9fpE

— Barry Silbert🎗️ (@BarrySilbert) November 20, 2024

Notably, Barry Silbert said he considers the innovations around Bittensor to the early days of crypto.

Digital Currency Group in The Crypto World

DCG is known as one of the biggest crypto project investors in the industry. While the crypto winter took a toll on the firm through Genesis, it has remained largely operational.

Grayscale Investments played a crucial role in bringing spot Bitcoin ETF products into the market. While its Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF products are less popular considering their regular outflows, they are still a favorite of top institutional investors.

As reported earlier, the Michigan Pension Fund disclosed its exposure to Grayscale’s Ethereum  ETF products. Digital Currency Group has weathered enough storms over the past years and Silbert reiterated his confidence in helping Bittensor “transform our the world with open access to intelligence.”