05/08/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2026 14:03
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our unaudited financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("U.S. GAAP"). The following discussion may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those set forth under "Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors" in this Quarterly Report, or in "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" or other sections of our Annual Report.
Trust Overview
The Trust is a passive entity that is managed and administered by the Sponsor and does not have any officers, directors or employees. The Trust holds TAO and, from time to time on a periodic basis, issues Creation Baskets in exchange for deposits of TAO. As a passive investment vehicle, the Trust's investment objective is for the value of the Shares (based on TAO per Share) to reflect the value of the TAO held by the Trust, determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities. While an investment in the Shares is not a direct investment in TAO, the Shares are designed to provide investors with a cost-effective and convenient way to gain investment exposure to TAO. To date, the Trust has not met its investment objective and the Shares quoted on OTCQX have not reflected the value of the TAO held by the Trust, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities, but instead have traded at premiums to such value, which at times have been substantial. The Trust is not managed like a business corporation or an active investment vehicle. The Trust will not utilize leverage, derivatives or any similar arrangements in seeking to meet its investment objective.
Prior to March 6, 2026, the Trust valued the TAO held by the Trust for operational purposes by reference to the Coin Metrics Real-Time Rate for Bittensor. As of March 6, 2026, the Index is the CoinDesk Bittensor Benchmark Rate which is used to calculate the NAV and NAV per Share. Prior to March 6, 2026, references to the "Index" in the Trust's filings with the SEC, including this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, refer to the Coin Metrics Real-Time Rate for Bittensor. From and after March 6, 2026, references to the "Index" in the Trust's filings with the SEC are to the CoinDesk Bittensor Benchmark Rate.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Investment Transactions and Revenue Recognition
The Trust considers investment transactions to be the receipt of TAO by the Trust in connection with Share creations and the delivery of TAO by the Trust in connection with Share redemptions or for payment of expenses in TAO. At this time, the Trust is not accepting redemption requests from shareholders. The Trust records its investment transactions on a trade date basis and changes in fair value are reflected as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments. Realized gains and losses are calculated using the specific identification method. Realized gains and losses are recognized in connection with transactions including settling obligations for the Sponsor's Fee in TAO.
Principal Market and Fair Value Determination
To determine which market is the Trust's principal market (or in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market) for purposes of calculating the Trust's net asset value in accordance with U.S. GAAP ("Principal Market NAV"), the Trust follows Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 820-10, Fair Value Measurement, which outlines the application of fair value accounting. ASC 820-10 determines fair value to be the price that would be received for TAO in a current sale, which assumes an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. ASC 820-10 requires the Trust to assume that TAO is sold in its principal market to market participants or, in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market. Market participants are defined as buyers and sellers in the principal or most advantageous market that are independent, knowledgeable, and willing and able to transact.
The Trust only receives TAO in connection with a creation order from the Authorized Participant (or a Liquidity Provider) and does not itself transact on any Digital Asset Markets. Therefore, the Trust looks to market-based volume and level of activity for Digital Asset Markets. The Authorized Participant(s), or a Liquidity Provider, may transact in a Brokered Market, a Dealer Market, Principal-to-Principal Markets and Exchange Markets (referred to as "Trading Platform Markets" in this Quarterly Report), each as defined in the FASB ASC Master Glossary (collectively, "Digital Asset Markets").
In determining which of the eligible Digital Asset Markets is the Trust's principal market, the Trust reviews these criteria in the following order:
The Trust determines its principal market (or in the absence of a principal market the most advantageous market) annually and conducts a quarterly analysis to determine (i) if there have been recent changes to each Digital Asset Market's trading volume and level of activity in the trailing twelve months, (ii) if any Digital Asset Markets have developed that the Trust has access to, or (iii) if recent changes to each Digital Asset Market's price stability have occurred that would materially impact the selection of the principal market and necessitate a change in the Trust's determination of its principal market.
Investment Company Considerations
The Trust is an investment company for U.S. GAAP purposes and follows accounting and reporting guidance in accordance with the FASB ASC Topic 946, Financial Services-Investment Companies. The Trust uses fair value as its method of accounting for TAO in accordance with its classification as an investment company for accounting purposes. The Trust is not a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act. U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates and these differences could be material.
Review of Financial Results (unaudited)
Financial Highlights for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2026 and 2025
(All amounts in the following table and the subsequent paragraphs, except Share, TAO and price of TAO amounts, are in thousands)
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
||||||||
|
2026 |
2025 |
|||||||
|
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment in TAO |
$ |
3,110 |
$ |
(4,311 |
) |
|||
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations |
$ |
3,058 |
$ |
(4,345 |
) |
|||
|
Net assets(1) |
$ |
11,747 |
$ |
5,004 |
||||
Net realized and unrealized gain on investment in TAO for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $3,110, which includes a realized loss of ($30) on the transfer of TAO to pay the Sponsor's Fee and net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investment in TAO of $3,140. Net realized and unrealized gain on investment in TAO for the period was driven by TAO price appreciation from $220.32 per TAO as of December 31, 2025, to $306.80 per TAO as of March 31, 2026. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $3,058 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, which consisted of the net realized and unrealized gain on investment in TAO, less the Sponsor's Fee of $52. Net assets increased to $11,747 at March 31, 2026, a 47% increase for the three-month period. The increase in net assets resulted from the aforementioned TAO price appreciation and the contribution of approximately 2,323 TAO with a value of $715 to the Trust in connection with Share creations during the period, partially offset by the withdrawal of approximately 226 TAO to pay the foregoing Sponsor's Fee.
Net realized and unrealized loss on investment in TAO for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was ($4,311), which includes a realized loss of ($2) on the transfer of TAO to pay the Sponsor's Fee, net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the Sponsor's Fee payable of ($2), and net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investment in TAO of ($4,307). Net realized and unrealized loss on investment in TAO for the period was driven by TAO price depreciation from $444.19 per TAO as of December 31, 2024, to $222.27 per TAO as of March 31, 2025. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was ($4,345) for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which consisted of the net realized and unrealized loss on investment in TAO, plus the Sponsor's
Fee of $34. Net assets increased to $5,004 at March 31, 2025, a 14% increase for the three-month period. The increase in net assets resulted from the contribution of approximately 12,717 TAO with a value of $4,953 to the Trust in connection with Share creations during the period, partially offset by the aforementioned TAO price depreciation and the withdrawal of approximately 118 TAO to pay the foregoing Sponsor's Fee.
Cash Resources and Liquidity
The Trust has not had a cash balance at any time since inception. When selling TAO, Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency in the Digital Asset Market to pay Additional Trust Expenses on behalf of the Trust, the Sponsor endeavors to sell the exact amount of TAO, Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency needed to pay expenses in order to minimize the Trust's holdings of assets other than TAO. As a consequence, the Sponsor expects that the Trust will not record any cash flow from its operations and that its cash balance will be zero at the end of each reporting period. Furthermore, the Trust is not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements.
In exchange for the Sponsor's Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the periods covered by this Quarterly Report was the Sponsor's Fee. The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs.
Selected Operating Data
|
As of March 31, |
||||||||
|
2026 |
2025 |
|||||||
|
Price of TAO on principal market |
$ |
306.80 |
$ |
222.27 |
||||
|
Principal Market NAV per Share(1) |
$ |
5.87 |
$ |
4.36 |
||||
|
Principal Market NAV(1) |
$ |
11,747,247 |
$ |
5,004,383 |
||||
|
Index Price |
$ |
306.77 |
$ |
222.12 |
||||
|
NAV per Share(2) |
$ |
5.86 |
$ |
4.35 |
||||
|
NAV(2) |
$ |
11,746,098 |
$ |
5,001,006 |
||||
For accounting purposes, the Trust reflects creations and the TAO receivable with respect to such creations on the date of receipt of a notification of a creation but does not issue Shares until the requisite amount of TAO is received. At this time, the Trust is not accepting redemption requests from shareholders. Subject to receipt of regulatory approval from the SEC and approval by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Trust may in the future operate a redemption program.
Historical NAV and TAO Prices
As movements in the price of TAO will directly affect the price of the Shares, investors should understand recent movements in the price of TAO. Investors, however, should also be aware that past movements in the TAO price are not indicators of future movements. Movements may be influenced by various factors, including, but not limited to, government regulation, security breaches experienced by service providers, as well as political and economic uncertainties around the world.
The following chart illustrates the movement in the Trust's NAV per Share versus the Index Price and the Trust's Principal Market NAV per Share from June 10, 2024 (the commencement of the Trust's operations) to March 31, 2026. For more information on the determination of the Trust's NAV, see "Item 1. Business-Overview of the TAO Industry and Market-TAO Value-The Index and the Index Price" in our Annual Report.
The following table illustrates the movements in the Index Price from June 10, 2024 to March 31, 2026. The Sponsor has not observed a material difference between the Index Price and average prices from the Constituent Trading Platforms individually, or as a group.
|
High |
Low |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Period |
Average |
Index Price |
Date |
Index Price |
Date |
End of period |
Last business day |
|||||||||||||||||
|
June 10, 2024 (the commencement of the Trust's operations) to March 31, 2025 |
$ |
400.74 |
$ |
709.06 |
12/6/2024 |
$ |
219.59 |
7/7/2024 |
$ |
222.12 |
$ |
222.12 |
||||||||||||
|
Twelve months ended March 31, 2026 |
$ |
316.83 |
$ |
505.98 |
11/1/2025 |
$ |
146.45 |
2/11/2026 |
$ |
306.77 |
$ |
306.77 |
||||||||||||
|
June 10, 2024 (the commencement of the Trust's operations) to March 31, 2026 |
$ |
354.34 |
$ |
709.06 |
12/6/2024 |
$ |
146.45 |
2/11/2026 |
$ |
306.77 |
$ |
306.77 |
||||||||||||
The following table illustrates the movements in the Digital Asset Market price of TAO, as reported on the Trust's principal market, from June 10, 2024 to March 31, 2026.
|
High |
Low |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Period |
Average |
Digital Asset Market Price |
Date |
Digital Asset Market Price |
Date |
End of period |
Last business day |
|||||||||||||||||
|
June 10, 2024 (the commencement of the Trust's operations) to March 31, 2025 |
$ |
400.73 |
$ |
708.85 |
12/6/2024 |
$ |
219.48 |
7/7/2024 |
$ |
222.27 |
$ |
222.27 |
||||||||||||
|
Twelve months ended March 31, 2026 |
$ |
317.04 |
$ |
506.06 |
11/1/2025 |
$ |
146.45 |
2/11/2026 |
$ |
306.80 |
$ |
306.80 |
||||||||||||
|
June 10, 2024 (the commencement of the Trust's operations) to March 31, 2026 |
$ |
354.44 |
$ |
708.85 |
12/6/2024 |
$ |
146.45 |
2/11/2026 |
$ |
306.80 |
$ |
306.80 |
||||||||||||
The following chart sets out the historical closing prices for the Shares as reported by OTCQX and the Trust's NAV per Share from December 12, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
GTAO Premium: GTAO Share Price vs. NAV per Share (Non-GAAP) ($)
The following chart sets out the historical premium for the Shares calculated as a percentage of the historical closing prices for the Shares as reported by OTCQX divided by the Trust's NAV per Share from December 12, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
GTAO Premium: GTAO Share Price vs. NAV per Share (Non-GAAP) (%)