Anthropic's Top AI Shutdown Turns Into Bittensor's Biggest Pump In Months

TAO hit $250 and was one of the top trending tickers on Stocktwits.

• Bittensor rose almost 16% on Saturday after TAO.com showed an Anthropic regulatory setback as proof of decentralized AI infrastructure.
• Anthropic stated the US authorities ordered it to halt Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for non-US users globally.
• Retail users on Stocktwits referenced Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's March comments equating Bittensor to "folding@home" to show their optimism. 

Bittensor (TAO) was up nearly 16% on Saturday, as the decentralized AI network's official account tied the rally to a regulatory setback for Anthropic.

In a post on X, TAO.com quote-tweeted Anthropic's (ANTHZZX) statement on the US government's directive suspending access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, framing the episode as validation for decentralized AI infrastructure.

"We are not building decentralised AI because it sounds better," the account wrote. "We are building it because the off switch cannot belong to one hand. If AI is going to run the economy, you cannot have it gated behind one API, one vendor, one jurisdiction, or one policy mood." The post ended with "Viva la $TAO."

TAO surged almost 15% in the hours after Anthropic's announcement, which aligns with the company's description of the move as a response to the news. The bars at the bottom of the chart were mostly muted through June 11-12, then spiked sharply right at the breakout candle on June 13, indicating a surge in trading activity rather than a thin-volume wick.

As of writing, TAO’s price was trading at $250. On Stocktwits, it was one of the top trending tickers. Retail sentiment around TAO improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ zone, while chatter stayed at ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day.

According to Anthropic’s official statement, the U.S. government, invoking national security authority, ordered the company to suspend all non-U.S. persons worldwide, including its own employees, from accessing its large models Fable 5 and Mythos 5. 

The ban was triggered by a controversial jailbreak discovery, stated the company. While Anthropic disagreed with the directive, it has complied with the law. In a statement, the company said that access to all other models in the Claude series remains unaffected.

How Are Retail Users Reacting? 

Following the surge, retail opinion about TAO has swung optimistically, with several Stocktwits users pointing to larger triggers outside of the Anthropic announcement. 

One user cited previous remarks made by Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang on Bittensor, encouraging people to "pay attention" when Nvidia's CEO talks about the network and providing links to other commentary on the subject. 

In March, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang spoke about the token, calling it “a modern version of folding@home” to Chamath's description of a decentralized AI training run on Templar, Bittensor Subnet 3.

Some users have presented TAO as a component of a more comprehensive cryptocurrency accumulation strategy. One suggested that investors stake TAO on exchanges that allow for flexible staking and combine it with Bitcoin (BTC) and Internet Computer (ICP) as a higher-volatility supplement to a core BTC holding.

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