#TAO

The 24-hour plunge of about 20%, bottoming at $242.8. The main reasons are as follows:

1. Exit of the core development team (the direct trigger)

- CovenantAI team publicly announced their exit from Bittensor
- Accused the project of "pseudo-decentralization," actually controlled by a few core individuals
- Directly exposes the AI public chain narrative, triggering a governance trust crisis

2. Overly large initial rally, bubble squeezing (fundamentals)

- Just surged 62% on April 8-9, severely overvalued
- Futures leverage extremely crowded in the $300–350 range
- After the price broke support, forced liquidations caused chain reactions

3. Deterioration of the overall market environment (external factors)

- Escalation of Middle East geopolitical conflict (Strait of Hormuz blockade)
- Funds flowing from cryptocurrencies into gold and crude oil for safe-haven
- The entire AI sector collectively collapsed

4. Technical breakdown

- Broke below $300 and $280 key support
- Daily MACD death cross, dominated by bears
- Whales concentrated on dumping and taking profits