Grayscale Investments filed an S‑1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to convert its Grayscale Bittensor Trust into a spot exchange‑traded fund that would trade on NYSE Arca under the ticker GTAO.
The S‑1 lodged requests conversion of the existing trust into a spot ETF designed to track TAO, the native token of the Bittensor network. Grayscale framed the conversion as intended to increase liquidity, transparency and investor access compared with direct token ownership and trust structures.
Standard SEC review mechanics apply: the filing notes an expected effective timeline of roughly 75 days after submission, but that estimate is conditional. The process can be extended by SEC comments, follow‑up amendments and additional disclosure requests — particularly around in‑kind redemptions, custody and any staking or yield mechanics.
The filing follows the trust’s formation in abril de 2024 and comes after the SEC adopted more permissive listing standards for spot crypto ETFs in sept. de 2025, creating a regulatory backdrop that encouraged such conversions.
Market reaction and competitive context for Grayscale
Markets responded immediately. TAO traded near an intraday low of about $217 at the time of the filing, rose above $220 (an initial move of roughly 1.3%) and then extended to approximately $241–$242, an overall advance in the 8–9% range. That spike reflected acute investor interest in regulated access to AI‑linked crypto assets and in the roughly $3 billion TAO market.
Grayscale is not alone: the filing came alongside other managers’ moves into TAO exposure. Bitwise has also included a TAO strategy within a slate of crypto ETF filings, underscoring a competitive race among asset managers to package decentralized AI tokens for public markets.
Grayscale’s filing also sits inside a broader product push: the firm has pursued conversions and S‑1/S‑3 filings across multiple digital assets, signalling a strategy to broaden ETF access to emerging crypto and technology sectors. That pipeline increases the likelihood of overlapping product launches and heightens scrutiny on disclosure about custody, staking and redemption mechanics.
Investors and market makers will now focus on the SEC’s feedback and the effective date of the filing; the regulator’s comments will shape whether the conversion proceeds on the estimated 75‑day cadence or faces delays.
