Bittensor TAO price traded lower on Thursday, falling by more than 4% to breach the $300 support level as a broader market decline hit altcoins.
Declines followed Bitcoin’s slip below $80,000 as risk-off sentiment intensified amid hot US inflation data and investor jitters around geopolitical uncertainty.
TAO price could extend losses with this technical breakdown, although a broader market recovery may allow for a retest of recent peaks.
Bittensor drops below $300 amid Bitcoin dip
TAO price reached highs of $330 on May 10, capping a notable bounce from lows seen in mid-April.
At the same time, Bitcoin’s price rose to above $82,000.
However, investor jitters amid consecutive hot US inflation data dampened expectations, and BTC slid to near $79,000.
The Bitcoin dip added to losses from Wednesday’s producer price index print and Tuesday’s CPI reading.
While Dow futures were up amid US President Donald Trump’s and China’s Xi Jinping’s talks around Taiwan, BTC showed weakness with a 1.5% dip over 24 hours.
This cascade effect rippled through the altcoin sector.
CoinMarketCap data shows that Ethereum dropped 2.1% to $2,260, Solana shed 4% to lows of $90, and XRP struggled near $1.42.
BNB hovered around $670.
Meanwhile, Bittensor, with its high-beta profile tied to AI and blockchain hype, tested intraday lows of $291.
Trading volume for TAO spiked 40% during the sell-off, indicating capitulation among short-term holders.
Elsewhere, open interest fell slightly from $469 million on May 12 to around $379 million as of writing on May 14.
This suggests that traders are showing caution.
TAO price near-term market outlook
TAO bulls have displayed some resilience following the breach of support at $300, with the AI token hovering around $296 at the time of writing.
However, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart sits at 54, signalling neutral conditions that sellers could tap into amid broader selling.
The MACD also hints at this potential.
A decisive breakdown below $290 risks a sharper correction toward the $270-$260 confluence, where the 100-day and 50-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) could converge as dynamic support.
If Bittensor holds above the critical $290 support, bolstered by rising volume, the next target could be the $320-$330 resistance zone.
Positive catalysts will include Bitcoin recapturing the $82k level amid any easing in macro headwinds.
Bittensor’s network strength will also buoy buyers, particularly as institutional demand grows.
Recently, Grayscale highlighted Bittensor and Zcash as two altcoins to watch amid a resurgence in privacy coins and AI.
“Two of the themes shaping the next cycle: financial privacy and decentralized intelligence,” the firm posted on X. “We believe $ZEC and $TAO are leading both conversations.”
TAO price reached highs of $500 in November 2025 and tested support around $145 in February this year.