Tao ETF application outshines NEAR with 7x higher revenue

With a combined market value of around $3 billion each, $TAO and $NEAR appear similar at first glance, but their economic foundations reveal major differences. While both cryptocurrencies trade at comparable sizes, fundamental divergences emerge in on-chain activity, ecosystem depth, and institutional catalysts.

$NEAR leads in on-chain revenue

$NEAR outpaces $TAO significantly when it comes to DeFi revenue, averaging $118,000 in daily fees through decentralized finance applications. This figure is about 7.6 times greater than $TAO’s daily revenue, which stands at roughly $15,600. $NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) has tripled over the past three months to reach $183 million, and the network supports $134 million in daily decentralized exchange volumes across 37 active DeFi protocols.

In contrast, $TAO does not engage meaningfully with DeFi. Its underlying Bittensor network functions as an incentive layer for artificial intelligence, rather than a platform for traditional on-chain applications. The differences in economic performance largely reflect these functional distinctions.

The Bittensor network brings together diverse AI models, encouraging participants to share knowledge and rewarding their contributions through a decentralized framework. $TAO is the native cryptocurrency powering this network.

$NEAR’s protocol ratio is close to 1, showing that network income almost fully covers its subsidies and incentives. Meanwhile, $TAO distributes over $148 million worth of new tokens each year but generates only $3 to $15 million in external revenue. As a result, $TAO’s subsidy-to-revenue ratio stands 10 to 50 times higher than $NEAR’s.

Looking at the price-to-fee multiple, $TAO is priced at 447 times its daily fees, while $NEAR’s ratio is 87. This suggests $TAO currently trades at about five times the valuation of $NEAR by this measure. Circulating supply also differs dramatically: only 45.8% of $TAO tokens are in circulation, compared to nearly 100% for $NEAR.

According to experts, “Bittensor does not operate like a layer-1 blockchain and is primarily focused on AI incentive economics, rather than DeFi. Therefore, income and subsidy balances should not be directly compared with traditional blockchains.”

ETF filing puts $TAO in the spotlight

In April 2026, Grayscale and Bitwise jointly filed for a spot ETF featuring $TAO. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to announce a ruling by August 2026. Notably, Grayscale raised $TAO’s weighting in its decentralized AI fund to a record 43%.

If approved, this ETF could channel significant institutional capital into $TAO. No similar regulatory or large-scale institutional developments currently exist for $NEAR.

Another distinction emerges in relation to all-time highs. $TAO would have to rise 2.7 times to match its March 2024 peak of $757. By comparison, $NEAR would need to climb 8.6 times to reach its historical high of $20.44, last seen in January 2022. This suggests that $NEAR may offer larger upside potential if the market recovers.

Supply and valuation contrast grows

Differences in token supply impact risk profiles. Only 45.8% of $TAO is currently liquid, with a majority of tokens yet to enter circulation. In contrast, nearly the entire $NEAR supply is available on the market. In terms of fully diluted valuation, $TAO stands at $5.86 billion—almost double $NEAR’s $3.08 billion—making $TAO significantly more expensive in absolute terms.