Barry Silbert Goes All-In on AI Crypto with Yuma

The crypto billionaire already runs a company that has equity stakes in over 200 firms across more than 25 countries. Yes, that’s a spreadsheet with a passport and a very ambitious accountant.

Barry Silbert isn’t just the founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG). He’s also the man behind Grayscale, an investment manager with more than $37 billion in assets under management. It’s basically a corporate multitool-except the tool is “more money” and the handle is “hasty growth projections.”

Silbert is also the CEO and founder of Yuma, a startup he launched in 2024 to support the Bittensor network. The 49-year-old mogul announced on Thursday that he is launching Yuma Asset Management, a new subsidiary of Yuma, to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the Bittensor ecosystem. Talk about expanding your Rolodex and your risk tolerance in one afternoon. 🤑🤖

Bittensor is a layer-one blockchain that focuses on AI by enabling users to produce so-called “digital commodities” such as compute power, storage space, and AI training in exchange for its network token TAO. It’s like a lemonade stand, but the lemons are neural nets and the lemonade is TAO-powered bragging rights.

Silbert has so much faith in Bittensor that he spun up the Grayscale Bittensor Trust last year, a fund that invests solely in TAO. Then he launched Yuma, also last year. In February 2025, Silbert’s DCG led a funding round for TaoFi, a project that offers DeFi services to Bittensor users. It’s basically a tech hedge fund with a dash of sci‑fi lore.

And now, DCG has seeded a subsidiary of Yuma called Yuma Asset Management with $10 million to set up two venture funds that will invest in promising Bittensor AI projects. Additional capital will be sourced from institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. Because nothing says “responsible investing” like layering more strategic bets on a blockchain that loves big numbers. 💸

“I believe that the next big wave in crypto is going to be the convergence of AI and crypto,” Silbert told Fortune in an interview. “It is the thing that I’ve gotten most excited about since Bitcoin.” 😂🤖💰

Read More

2025-10-10 02:43