Covenant AI exits Bittensor but this isn’t just another “team leaves” story
On April 10, Covenant AI officially walked away from Bittensor and the reasons they gave are… not small.
The team openly accused a key figure, Jacob Steeves (aka Const), of undermining the network’s decentralization.
According to founder Sam Dare, several aggressive actions were taken against them: • Token emissions for their subnet were halted • Control over community channels was removed • Infrastructure support was cut • And heavy token selling allegedly applied economic pressure during disputes
That’s not just internal drama that’s governance breaking down.
The bigger issue: decentralization vs control
Covenant AI didn’t hold back. They described Bittensor’s governance as “decentralization theater” — basically saying the system looks decentralized on the surface, but decisions are still controlled by a few hands.
Their main claim? Multi-sig governance is being bypassed, and real consensus isn’t actually happening.
If true, that hits at the core narrative of Bittensor.
Important: they didn’t leave because they failed
Before exiting, Covenant AI delivered one of the largest decentralized LLM training efforts: • Covenant-72B model • 70+ contributors • Recognition from Jensen Huang • Mentioned by Dario Amodei
That matters this isn’t a weak team rage quitting. They had traction.
What’s next?
Covenant AI says they’re taking: • their team • their research • and their models
…and building elsewhere.
No details yet but they’ve hinted something new is coming.
My take (zooming out): This is less about one project leaving and more about a recurring pattern in crypto “decentralized” systems quietly drifting toward centralized control.
Sometimes it’s design. Sometimes it’s power concentration over time. Either way, markets eventually price that in.
If this escalates or gets verified further, expect sentiment around Bittensor to get shaky short-term.
Around this time last year, Bitcoin had just found a local bottom following the tariff-related turbulence. What followed was a strong run, with multiple consecutive green weeks.
Seasonally, Q2 tends to be fairly solid for #Bitcoin , though it’s not typically the strongest quarter. As the quarter progresses into the summer months, activity usually slows down volumes drop and price action becomes more subdued.
$BTC appears to be in the final phase of its bear market.
• Could it drop further? Yes.
• Could this phase drag on for a few more months? Also yes.
This stage is all about putting long-term holders (LTHs) under pressure.
It usually begins with short-term holders (STHs), who’ve already been feeling the strain over the past six months, before that pressure gradually shifts toward LTHs.
This cycle has played out consistently across previous market downturns.
One of the best ways to track this is through the LTH SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio). It shows whether long-term holders are selling at a profit or a loss when they move their coins.
While it’s not perfectly precise since it includes all spent outputs, even simple transfers it still offers a strong view of the overall trend.
💥 Right now, the 30-day moving average of LTH SOPR is below 1, sitting around 0.96, which signals that losses are being realized.
At the same time, the yearly average remains positive at 1.71, largely due to the lag in longer-term data.
When long term holders consistently start realizing losses, it often becomes a key signal to watch for potential long-term accumulation opportunities.
This is a phase best approached with patience and a long-term perspective.
Strong reclaim from the 2060 zone → impulsive move straight into 2270, and now just grinding sideways above key MAs. That’s classic bullish continuation behavior, not distribution.
Holding above 2240 area is key. As long as that sticks, I’m expecting a breakout attempt above 2270 → opens room for the next leg up.
Momentum + structure both aligned. ETH not done yet.
Přehled kryptoměnového trhu • Ceny a celkový trh: Bitcoin se pohybuje kolem 66 800–67 000 $ (stabilní na +0,3 % v posledních sezeních), Ethereum kolem 2 050–2 060 $ (podobně stabilní/mírně smíšené). Celková tržní kapitalizace kryptoměn se nachází blízko 2,3 bilionu $ s drobnými denními zisky (~0,2–0,3 %). Objem je mírný a sentiment zůstává opatrný.  • Klíčové téma ovlivňující volatilitu: Trvající geopolitické napětí mezi USA a Íránem (a smíšené signály prezidenta Trumpa ohledně časové osy konfliktu) vytvořily prostředí pro riziko. Naděje na deeskalaci/příměří vyvolaly krátkodobé rally v průběhu týdne, ale následné komentáře o možných útocích způsobily poklesy (např. Bitcoin krátce testoval nižší úrovně kolem 66k). Výkyvy cen ropy toto zesílily. Ještě není žádné řešení, takže to zůstává dominantním krátkodobým faktorem.  • Pozitivní poznámka uprostřed poklesu: Sektor tokenizovaných reálných aktiv (RWA) dosáhl v dubnu 2026 27,65 miliardy $ (nahoru ~4 % od začátku měsíce), vedený americkými státními pokladnami. To ukazuje na institucionální zájem, který se udržuje navzdory širší slabosti kryptoměn.  • Další vývoj: • Novinky související s Ripple: Konečné pravidlo OCC o národních důvěrných bankách nabylo účinnosti 1. dubna a rozšířilo aktivity a posunulo Rippleovu podmíněnou chartu směrem k plné integraci do amerického bankovnictví (např. úschova digitálních aktiv). To je regulační milník s dlouhodobými býčími implikacemi pro XRP a kryptoinfrastrukturu, ale není to okamžitá změna „Ripple je nyní plnohodnotná banka“.  • Širší výhled na duben zahrnuje potenciální Fed katalyzátory později v měsíci, ale teď nic akutního. Krypto je v fázi konsolidace/poklesu od začátku roku (Bitcoin výrazně klesl z maxim), přičemž geopolitika nyní převažuje nad ostatními faktory. V posledním dni nebyly žádné hacky, velké překvapení ETF nebo explozivní pohyby cen.