Nasdaq-listed Bittensor treasury company Oblong stakes $8 million of token

Micro-cap company Oblong (ticker OBLG) said on Thursday it has staked $8 million worth of Bittensor, or TAO, tokens.

"In Bittensor, staking means putting TAO to work to support the network’s operations and reward top AI innovators," Oblong said in a statement. "By staking its entire TAO position, Oblong reinvests in this ecosystem, strengthening innovation and aligning with its vision of a decentralized AI future."

The company —market cap of roughly $6.6 million, according to Yahoo Finance— pivoted in June to a "decentralized AI treasury strategy," with a focus on stockpiling TAO. At the end of the first quarter, the company said it had $4.3 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt, and had raised $500,000 from common stock warrant exercises.

Oblong then raised $7.5 million to pursue its Bittensor treasury strategy, the company said.

Before shifting to a crypto treasury strategy, Oblong was primarily focused on selling its product, which is a "meeting technology platform" allowing for "situational awareness for both in-room and remote collaborators." It has worked with Fortune 500 clients, the company said.

In the first quarter, Oblong had a revenue of $600,000 and posted a net loss of $700,000.

Bittensor treasury companies

The company's Bittensor accumulation strategy puts it in a small class of companies keen to stockpile TAO. At the end of last month, the publicly-listed firm xTAO said it became the largest publicly traded holder of the Bittensor network's native token. At the time, xTAO held 41,538 TAO — worth $14.7 million as of Thursday.

TAO Synergies, another Bittensor treasury company, bought 29,899 TAO for $10 million, also in July.

In April, Digital Currency Group's Barry Silbert suggested TAO may be the next Bitcoin. Bittensor is a platform built around incentives. People contribute intelligence by helping AI systems improve and earn TAO tokens based on how useful their work is.

Bittensor's token was trading at $354.67 as of 11:21 a.m. ET, according to The Block's price data, with a market cap of $3.4 billion.