DCG's decentralized AI subsidiary Yuma hires TradeBlock co-founders to C-Suite

Digital Currency Group’s AI-focused subsidiary Yuma has named crypto data provider TradeBlock’s co-founders to its C-suite, according to an announcement on Tuesday. Greg and Jeff Schvey, brothers, will join as chief operating officer and chief technology officer, respectively. 

TradeBlock had a preexisting relationship with DCG, one of the largest crypto conglomerates, and Axoni, a blockchain infrastructure firm, in which DCG had invested. TradeBlock’s crypto index and data business was acquired by former DCG media subsidiary CoinDesk in early 2021 before being spun out and later sunsetted amid the last so-called 'crypto winter' in 2023.

In an announcement on Tuesday, COO Greg Schvey notes he’s joining Yuma “as a company outsider.” Schvey served as CEO of Axoni at the time its post-trade processing business was sold to the London Stock Exchange Group in 2024.

"My job is to apply my experience developing critical infrastructure companies to ensure Yuma continues growing into a strong, resilient organization where great people can do exceptional work, while continuing to elevate Bittensor,” Schvey wrote in a post on X. 

Yuma, founded in November 2024, offers validator, mining, and subnet services for the Bittensor network, a decentralized, blockchain-based network that enables collaborative machine learning and AI model development across specialized subnets. The network rewards validators and miners in its native TAO token for contributing computational resources.

According to Schvey, the firm is “actively validating” on over 120 subnets and mining on others. It has also “provided capital to 15 subnet operators, empowering entrepreneurs around the world with fuel to test their ideas.” 

Earlier this year, Yuma said it onboarded eight institutional validator partners, including BitGo, Copper, and Crypto.com. The firm is reportedly also looking to expand into asset management.

Bittensor underwent a “Dynamic TAO” upgrade in February, which introduced "alpha" tokens for subnets or applications built on the network, leading a spike in interest, The Block previously reported. 

TAO is trading around $332 at press time, down about 6% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s price page .