Pi Network big dump 90% still has 60 million loyal users? Mobile Mining eyewash or opportunity

Since its launch in 2019, Pi Network claims to have nearly 60 million users worldwide, but its price has fallen 90% from $3 to $0.21, the Mainnet was delayed for several years to launch, and the centralized control by the core team has raised questions similar to those of a pyramid scheme.

The Birth and Promise of Pi Network

Pi Network was founded in 2019 by graduates from Stanford University, aiming to reshape cryptocurrency mining. Traditional Bitcoin mining requires expensive ASIC hardware and a large amount of power consumption, making it impossible for the average person to participate. Pi proposes a revolutionary vision: users can "mine" Pi (PI) coins through a smartphone application without the need for energy-consuming hardware.

The project relies on the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) and a social "safety circle," rather than Proof of Work (PoW). This design aims to achieve broader inclusivity in the hash power competition, allowing anyone in the world with a smartphone to participate in the cryptocurrency economy. This vision was particularly appealing in 2019, especially for users in developing countries who may not be able to afford specialized mining equipment, but almost everyone has a smartphone.

In February 2025, years after the initial promise was realized, Pi finally opened its long-awaited Mainnet for external trading and token transfers. However, the project's progress has been slow and filled with setbacks. Issues such as migration latency, KYC backlog, and uneven access have left many early supporters frustrated. Nevertheless, market speculation remains strong: Pi's price briefly surged to nearly $3 after the Mainnet launch, but by September 2025, it fell back to around $0.21, with a big dump of up to 90%.

So far, Pi Network has maintained significant enthusiasm while facing increasingly serious operational and structural issues. This contradictory phenomenon raises a core question: why does the questioning persist yet the enthusiasm remains undiminished?

Five Major Criticisms from Critics

Despite Pi Network continuing to attract a large number of daily users, critics argue that its foundation is riddled with unresolved flaws. These criticisms do not stem from random attacks by outsiders, but are based on in-depth observations of the project's structure and operation.

1. The divergence between centralized control and decentralized commitment

Despite Pi's claim to be an "open network," control still remains concentrated in the hands of its core team. All validator nodes are still operated by project developers rather than independent community members. This structure fundamentally undermines the decentralized foundation upon which most cryptocurrencies are built. True decentralization should mean that anyone can run a node and participate in consensus, rather than having the founding team monopolize control of the network.

What is even more concerning is the lack of transparency in token distribution. Pi has set a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens, divided into four parts: 65% for community mining rewards, 20% for the core team, 10% for foundation reserves, and 5% for liquidity. In theory, this seems straightforward, but the actual circulation depends on how many tokens migrate to the Mainnet. The unlocking speed for each category is synchronized with the verified migration mining rewards (MMR), but the specific unlocking mechanisms and timelines lack clear disclosure.

Critics are particularly concerned about the 20% (i.e., 20 billion Pi) held by the core team. If the team decides to liquidate these tokens, it would have a devastating impact on the market. Under the current structure, ordinary users cannot track the movements of the team's wallet through on-chain data, and this information asymmetry puts investors in a very disadvantageous position.

2. The MLM-like referral mechanism raises questions

(Source: CoinTelegraph)

Mining Pi heavily relies on recommendations and the "security circle." Users can gain additional mining speed boosts by inviting new members to join, with each valid invitation providing a 25% increase in mining rate. Establishing a "security circle" (by inviting 5 trusted members) can grant up to a 100% reward increase.

Critics argue that this tiered recruitment system reflects the characteristics of multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. In the MLM model, participants' earnings largely come from recruiting downlines rather than the actual value of products or services. The referral dynamics of the Pi Network bear an astonishing resemblance to this—early participants achieve higher mining rates by building large downline networks, while later participants need to recruit newcomers themselves to enjoy the same advantages.

The more critical issue is sustainability. When the growth of new users slows down, this growth model relying on referrals will be difficult to maintain. Data from 2025 shows that the growth rate of new users in Pi Network has明显放缓, which may be one of the deeper reasons for the price big dump of 90%.

3. Listing Restrictions and Liquidity Dilemma

Even after the Pi Mainnet goes live in February 2025, its trading platform will still be limited to exchanges like Gate. The new round of CEX has been suspended from going live due to unresolved tokenomics and centralization issues.

This listing restriction directly affects the price discovery and liquidity of Pi. The absence of mainstream exchanges means that most potential investors cannot conveniently buy or sell Pi, leading to a severe lack of market depth. In this environment, even medium-sized buy and sell orders can cause drastic price fluctuations. The lack of liquidity was undoubtedly a significant factor in Pi's fall from $3 to $0.21—when a large number of early miners attempted to cash out, the market simply could not absorb this selling pressure.

4. Suspicious whale activity and manipulation concerns

(Source: CoinTelegraph)

On-chain data reveals a more disturbing phenomenon. A crypto wallet named "GAS…ODM" has quietly accumulated 331 million Pi coins, accounting for a significant proportion of the current circulating supply. This massive concentration of tokens has raised suspicions of insider manipulation.

If this wallet belongs to the core team or early insiders, they may have information advantages and market influence that ordinary users cannot reach. In the decentralized crypto world, this kind of centralized token holding structure is a serious red flag. Worse still, due to the lack of transparency in the disclosure of blockchain information by Pi Network, ordinary users cannot even confirm how many similar whale wallets exist.

5. Privacy Risks of Centralized KYC

To migrate the mined Pi to the Mainnet, users must first go through "Know Your Customer" (KYC). This means uploading government-issued identification and completing a facial recognition "live selfie" check. The issue is that this data is stored on centralized servers, rather than in user-controlled systems, which raises criticisms regarding privacy and security risks.

The previous allegations regarding the third-party KYC provider have raised ongoing questions about how Pi handles sensitive user information. In an era of frequent data breaches, centralizing the identification documents and biometric data of millions of people in a centralized system is undoubtedly a huge security risk. Moreover, critics point out that this data itself could become a revenue source for the project—monetizing by selling or renting user data to third parties.

Five Core Reasons for Unwavering Enthusiasm

So, amidst so many doubts and criticisms, why does Pi Network still manage to maintain an almost fanatical following? There are complex psychological, economic, and sociological factors behind this.

1. Zero-threshold financial accessibility

Mining Pi requires attention, not capital. Users only need to open the app once a day to confirm activities, without the need to purchase GPUs, pay for electricity, or even understand complex technical concepts. This framework reduces perceived risk, allowing anyone with a smartphone to access the network. For users in developing countries, this may be their only realistic way to engage with cryptocurrency.

The layered incentive mechanism will gamify the experience, turning random clicks into progressive advancements. Each successful invitation, each establishment of a secure circle, and each task completion will bring immediate positive feedback. This psychological design is similar to the like mechanism of social media or the leveling system of mobile games, effectively maintaining user engagement.

2. Advantages of Mobile-First Design Era

Pi positions itself as "the cryptocurrency for the smartphone era." It has eliminated the need for wallets and mining equipment, simplifying participation to a one-click operation. Analysts emphasize that this is where Pi's true innovation lies: it converts non-technical users, those lacking bank accounts, or those interested in cryptocurrencies into participants through a lightweight, energy-efficient system (based on SCP rather than PoW).

In 2025, the number of global smartphone users will exceed 6.9 billion, which means the potential market for mobile-first crypto experiments like Pi could be larger than Bitcoin wallets (approximately 460 million). This scale difference has led Pi supporters to believe that even with current issues, as long as technical and regulatory barriers can be resolved, the growth potential for Pi in the future will be astonishing.

3. Community recognition as emotional drive

Labels are important. Pi users refer to themselves as "Pioneers", and rituals like daily clicks, referrals, and team building create social cohesion. Events such as PiFest and the "Pi Map" enhance people's engagement and give participants a sense of belonging.

Once this community identity is formed, it generates a strong stickiness. People are not just investing in a crypto project; they are participating in a global social movement. When critics attack Pi, many users instinctively defend it, as denying Pi is equivalent to denying the time and emotional investment they have made over the past few years. This psychological mechanism allows Pi Network to maintain a loyal core user base amidst controversy.

Even though the figure of "60 million users" for Pi is controversial, the approximately 12 million verified active accounts still represent a massive scale. Recent web analytics show that the main countries of origin for visitors to minepi.com are: Vietnam (10.2%), South Korea (8.2%), India (6.66%), the United States (6.6%), and Ethiopia (5.2%). This global user distribution demonstrates Pi's penetration in emerging markets.

4. Experimentation and hope outweigh direct utility

The narrative of Pi Network deliberately focuses on the long term: first constructing a user map, then expanding usability. This sequence allows setbacks such as migration latency or sparse applications to be redefined as temporary obstacles. For project supporters, the vision is more important than the problems at hand. They believe that once the technical issues are resolved and the regulatory environment becomes clear, the vast user base accumulated by Pi will translate into significant network value.

The various measures of the ecosystem also remain vibrant: hackathons, developer funding, and builder funds. Although these are not the final outcomes, they provide the community with milestones to track and discuss, helping to maintain interaction during market fluctuations. Each time the core team releases a roadmap update or announces new features, the community reignites hope that the moment of "Pi is about to explode" is finally coming.

5. Controversy over the Revenue Model of In-App Advertising

Critics have called the project "profit-driven," citing its reliance on in-app advertising, recommendation-driven growth, and centralized control over the tokens. Some even claim that its KYC requirements may allow for the monetization of user data.

Indeed, there is a large amount of advertising in the Pi Network application. Users often see various advertising content while clicking to mine or viewing information daily. Where does the revenue from these ads go? Is it used to support project development, or does it go into the pockets of the founding team? Due to the lack of transparency in financial information, the outside world has no way of knowing.

If Pi Network primarily relies on advertising revenue rather than the token economy itself to sustain its operations, then it resembles an advertising platform cloaked in crypto rather than a true decentralized crypto project. This business model is essentially no different from traditional social media applications (which monetize user attention), just with a gamified packaging of "mining."

Key Observations for the Future of Pi Network

The persistence of Pi has never been a reflection of short-term prices. The real test lies in whether it can convert the public's curiosity into practical functions of an open network. For observers trying to gauge the prospects of Pi Network, the following signals are crucial:

Decentralized Practice: Proving that "open networks" are not just empty talk. The number of independent validators, the geographical diversity of node distribution, and whether the core team is willing to gradually relinquish control are all key indicators of the level of decentralization. True integration (rather than just messaging within applications) is what can prove the technical value of the project.

Listing on mainstream exchanges: Before the next round of major exchange involvement, price discovery and user trust remain limited. Large CEXs have extremely strict listing standards; if Pi can meet their requirements and successfully list, it will be a strong endorsement of the project's legitimacy. Conversely, if mainstream exchanges refuse to list for a long time, it itself indicates a problem.

Ecosystem delivery: Funded hackathons, instant applications, and active usage are more important than blog updates. Pi claims to have 210+ DApps and 23,000 projects in development, but the key question is whether these applications are actually being used. Hard metrics such as daily active users, transaction volume, and developer retention rates will better illustrate the health of the ecosystem than flashy announcements.

KYC and migration progress: A transparent and continuously growing number of on-chain users will form the foundation of any functional economy. If the KYC backlog issue persists, a large number of users will be unable to transfer their mining earnings to the Mainnet, and the entire economic model will fail to operate normally.

If these milestones can be smoothly advanced, the hype around Pi may begin to shift towards verified practicality. If progress stagnates, the main product of the project will still be confidence (rather than fundamentals), which will ultimately struggle to escape the fate of a bubble burst.