Const, co‑founder of Bittensor, has officially addressed the Samuel Dare (Covenant) betrayal that rocked the TAO community. In a lengthy X post, he apologized to every holder who lost money in the Covenant subnets (3, 39, and 81). He called Samuel a person he once considered a brother, someone who took actions intended to cause maximum pain to the protocol and its users. Const chose not to fight back publicly, stating he believes Samuel may be going through a mental breakdown after flying too close to the sun.
What you'll learn 👉
The Core of the Response – Locked Stake and Moving Forward
Const introduced a new protocol feature called Locked Stake. Subnet owners would lock tokens for a fixed period of time, proving long‑term commitment. Time plus stake equals trust. This feature was one of the last things Samuel worked on before leaving the Opentensor Foundation. Const admits his real error was not implementing it sooner, adding that it might have saved Sam from himself.
The proposal aims to solve a problem that has plagued all of Web3: how to measure a team’s commitment beyond incentives and ownership. If passed, Locked Stake will give investors predictability and assurances against events like the Covenant rug pull. It also opens a new dimension for teams to compete by showing conviction.
Bittensor Co-Founder Responds to Covenant Drama | $TAO Update
— Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) April 12, 2026
Const has officially addressed the Samuel Dare (Covenant) betrayal that rocked the #TAO community.
Key Takeaways: 👇
→ Apologized to all $TAO holders who lost money in Covenant subnets (3, 39, 81)
→ Believes Samuel… https://t.co/gJilhP2rrX pic.twitter.com/Cm6TU5GthD
Revival of Affected Subnets and Decentralization Claim
Const confirmed that subnets 3, 39, and 81 will be revived. Members of the mining community and ex‑Covenant team members are already organizing to continue the work. The code is open source, and the vision for those subnets never belonged to one person. Functionally, the subnets should not change, and holders and miners will organize around them.
He also reaffirmed that Bittensor is by far the most decentralized AI protocol in existence. He acknowledged that the technology is abstract and often overcomplicated, but the core idea remains: an economic layer where anyone can participate in owning, mining, and training AI. The group is building state‑of‑the‑art artificial intelligence that is truly co‑owned. His closing line: “Next time we train 1 trillion.”
Locked Stake could become an industry‑wide standard to prevent rug pulls and measure team commitment in Web3. No other protocol has solved the problem of aligning long‑term incentives with open‑source development. If Bittensor implements this successfully, it sets a new benchmark for decentralized AI projects. The response also shows that the founder is willing to apologize, take blame, and propose concrete solutions rather than just defend the status quo. For TAO holders, this is a step toward restoring trust after a devastating 20% price crash.
Read also: Bittensor (TAO) Slides 25% in 3 Days: Time to Buy Again or Stay Off?
Short‑Term TAO Price Outlook
TAO dropped from $341 to $260 following the Covenant exit. The response from Const has not yet triggered a major rebound, as markets wait to see if Locked Stake passes and if subnets actually revive. Immediate support sits at $240‑$250. Resistance is at $300. A confirmed recovery above $300 would signal that the community accepts the plan. Failure to hold $240 could lead to a retest of $200. The next few days will be driven by developer and miner reactions to the Locked Stake proposal.
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