Kusanagi Launches to Bring Bittensor Closer to Institutions

Kusanagi launched on August 31 with a goal to help Bittensor subnets turn their technology into businesses while making the ecosystem more accessible to institutional capital.

The new firm combines several existing pieces of the Bittensor ecosystem. MUV is being rebranded as Kusanagi Validator, while Taoswap becomes a Kusanagi product for trading and exploring subnet tokens.

The company will also provide subnet teams with strategy, communications, and go-to-market support, while working toward a regulated investment vehicle that could give traditional investors exposure to Bittensor without requiring them to directly manage subnet tokens or infrastructure.

The team gives the project its strongest institutional angle. Co-founder Jean-Thomas Ledoré, a Strategy Partner at PwC France, previously led the alliance that brought Score’s Manako (Subnet 44) into PwC’s enterprise advisory practice.

Kusanagi’s other co-founders are Rapido, who built Taoswap and previously operated the MUV validator, and Victor VL, who leads communications at the Opentensor Foundation.

The launch comes as Bittensor’s commercial activity becomes easier to quantify. SubConnect’s first Bittensor Revenue Index estimates that 24 subnets collectively generate between $28 million and $35 million in annual recurring revenue, with customers including PwC France and Dropbox.

Kusanagi is therefore targeting a gap that is becoming increasingly important: Bittensor has no shortage of subnet technology, but turning that technology into enterprise distribution and investable opportunities requires a different set of capabilities.

If Kusanagi succeeds, its role will be more about connecting the existing ecosystem to customers, businesses, and capital that exist outside crypto-native markets.

Read more about Taoswap: