Bitcoin’s compute power dwarfs top 100 supercomputers by 600k times, says Bittensor co-founder

Tech Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin’s compute power dwarfs top 100 supercomputers by 600k times, says Bittensor co-founder Ala Shaabana explains how using Bitcoin network’s coordinate-and-reward playbook can bust open corporate monopolies on AI. By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf Jun 2, 2026, 11:25 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Bittensor co-founder Ala Shaabana takes the stage at Proof of Talk in Paris to speak of the incredible compute power behind the Bitcoin network.(Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk) What to know : At a Paris summit, Bittensor co-founder Ala Shaabana argued that decentralized networks are overtaking traditional corporate data centers as the backbone of global computing power. Shaabana said Bitcoin’s network hash rate exceeds the combined power of the top 100 supercomputers by more than 600,000 times, illustrating the scale of distributed computing. He contended that by using incentive-driven subnets to reward specific tasks, open networks can more efficiently marshal global hardware and intelligence for artificial intelligence than centralized tech monopolies. The infrastructure supporting global computing is undergoing a massive shift. True computing power no longer belongs to isolated corporate data centers, but to open, global networks. Speaking at the Proof of Talk summit in Paris, Bittensor co-founder and Crucible Labs partner Ala Shaabana highlighted the staggering math behind decentralized networks. To show the audience what distributed computing can do, he stacked the Bitcoin network up against traditional enterprise setups. "We all know that Bitcoin really dwarfs the top 100 supercomputers," Shaabana said. "Does anybody know, in comparison, what the hash rate is? It's over 600,000 times the power of really what these supercomputers can do. And that's just, really, it's Bitcoin." To understand Shaabana's comment, it helps to know what Bittensor actually is. It is a Layer 1 protocol built on the same codebase philosophy as Bitcoin: a hard cap of 21 million tokens, halvings hardcoded into predetermined blocks, with no pre-mine, and no venture capital. Bittensor is a decentralized network that replaces Bitcoin's hash-puzzle mining with running and validating artificial intelligence. The same incentive architecture that turned Bitcoin into a computing force 600,000 times more powerful than the world's top supercomputers is redirected by Bittensor toward AI, organized across 128 specialized problem-solving networks called subnets. Each subnet defines its own goal, and miners compete for TAO token rewards by meeting it, meaning the network's intelligence is shaped entirely by what it chooses to reward. That design principle, borrowed directly from Bitcoin's playbook, is the foundation of everything Shaabana argues below. Shift in long-term bull case Shaabana's core logic is simple: if coordination and code could create the world's most powerful financial computing engine, the exact same blueprint can be applied to AI. By breaking a network down into 128 individual problem-solving neighborhoods or subnets, developers can source global hardware and intelligence without a central tech monopoly. The trick to making a distributed system work relies entirely on the incentive design. "Show me the subnet, and I'll tell you what the miners are optimizing for," Shaabens said, adapting a famous market quote. If you reward participants for raw compute speed, they optimize for speed. If you reward them for data storage, they optimize for storage. By setting these programmatic goals, open networks naturally attract talent and computing power far more efficiently than standard corporations. “The long-term bull case is no longer primarily technological,” Shaabana concluded. “It is driven by debt, liquidity, and declining trust in traditional sovereign systems. Subnets really create markets. Intelligence really is no longer locked behind issues of organization; signals will define the truth, and performance is really rewarded.” Bitcoin News More For You Here's how one decentralized cloud provider says private citizens can make money from AI By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Sheldon Reback 7 hours ago Titan Network says its crowdsourced computing network has signed tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba as clients, saving them as much 75% on AI costs. What to know : Titan Network says its software aggregates unused computing power from consumers' connected devices into a decentralized cloud that offers AI firms infrastructure at up to 75% lower cost than traditional providers. The company, which counts Tencent, Alibaba and Kling AI among its clients, pays 80% of revenue from corporate data... Read full story Latest Crypto News UK House of Lords committee calls on Bank of England to reconsider proposed stablecoin restrictions 25 minutes ago U.S. sanctions Iranian crypto exchanges in ongoing war against the country 1 hour ago Coinbase backs Ethena ahead of savings product launch for exchange's 100 million users 3 hours ago Galaxy enters institutional prediction markets with $10 million Arca trade 4 hours ago Tom Lee predicts ether will hit $250,000 as corporate validators take over network control 4 hours ago Bitcoin set for 'choppy summer' as capital chases high-flying AI stocks, K33 says 4 hours ago Top Stories Live markets: bitcoin loses $67,000 level in Tuesday plunge, putting February's lows back in play 10 hours ago Hyperliquid predicted 80% of oil move before traditional exchanges opened, says expert report 7 hours ago Bitcoin derivatives markets flashing warning signs as price plunges below $70,000 11 hours ago Strategy's bitcoin sale may mark start of ether outperformance, StanChart's Kendrick says 10 hours ago Strategy sold bitcoin in late May, and told the market in June. Here's how Polymarket bettors are fighting over when it counts. 18 hours ago Mt. Gox moves 10,422 bitcoin worth $739 million to a new wallet as deadline nears 17 hours ago