Pi Network's Price Drops 38% in a Week Amid Centralization Concerns

Pi Network's price has experienced significant fluctuations recently, currently trading at $0.7796. Despite a 6% increase in the last 24 hours, the token has declined by 38% over the past week and is more than 70% below its all-time high of $2.99 recorded in February. The recent price crash began after May 12, when Pi Network surged to $1.6631 ahead of ecosystem news, but has since dropped below several key technical indicators.

Technical analysis reveals a bearish pennant pattern forming on the eight-hour chart, which could push Pi’s price to a support level of $0.5580. A failure to hold this level could lead to further decline toward $0.40, representing a 45% drop from current prices. The only invalidation of this bearish forecast would be a rise above the psychological $1 mark.

One of the major obstacles facing Pi Network is its centralized structure. The Pi Foundation reportedly holds at least 72.7 billion tokens valued at over $53 billion across seven wallets, plus more tokens in thousands of additional wallets. This high level of centralization presents risks to token holders, as these wallets remain unaudited. The price could crash dramatically if the foundation sells these tokens or if hackers gain access to the wallets. The centralized nature of Pi Network stands as a barrier to obtaining listings on major exchanges.

Pi Network’s tokenomics present additional challenges that may suppress price growth. Data shows the network will unlock 271.18 million tokens over the next 30 days, with a daily average exceeding 9 million tokens. Looking further ahead, 1.49 billion tokens will be unlocked over the next 12 months. With Pi having a maximum supply of 100 billion and a current circulating supply of 7.9 billion, the supply will grow by over 92 billion tokens over time. These continued unlocks increase the available supply, which can drive prices down, especially when not matched by corresponding demand.

Pi Network faces criticism as a potential “ghost chain” – a blockchain with few developers building applications. While the mainnet launched with 100 apps, most have failed to gain traction. The $100 million Pi Network Ventures fund was established to support ecosystem growth, but has yet to show significant progress. Without strong applications driving usage, the Pi Network token lacks utility beyond speculation. Many users have been unable to access their coins since the February mainnet launch due to ongoing Know Your Customer (KYC) delays. This has frustrated early miners who expected to freely use or trade their tokens.

Pi Network’s absence from major exchanges has limited its liquidity and wider adoption. While the token trades on platforms such as Gate.io, Bitget, and OKX, the lack of Tier 1 exchange listings has hampered growth. Community members point to the team’s limited transparency as a possible reason for the absence of these key listings. This creates a cycle where reduced liquidity leads to less interest, further suppressing price. Despite claiming a large user base, Pi Network has struggled to translate this into real-world usage and demand.

For now, Pi Network may target the $1 mark again if it can maintain support above $0.77 and overcome resistance at $0.84. However, without addressing fundamental issues like token accessibility, exchange listings, and ecosystem development, significant price appreciation remains challenging.