Pi Network's Price Drops 80% After Binance Listing Denial

Pi Network, a cryptocurrency project that aims to make mining accessible via smartphones, has garnered significant community support but remains unlisted on major exchanges like Binance as of April 2025. Despite over 2 million votes from its users advocating for a Binance listing, the project has not received any official response from the exchange. This lack of listing has raised questions about the project's viability and future prospects.

There are several reasons why Pi Network has not been listed on Binance. Unofficially, concerns within the crypto community include allegations of artificially inflated user metrics, Ponzi-style dynamics, and centralized control over the network and tokenomics. Officially, Binance experts cite blockchain compatibility issues, transparency concerns, and regulatory uncertainties as barriers to listing Pi. The project operates on its own blockchain, which does not meet Binance's core eligibility criteria for its "Vote to List" initiative. Additionally, Pi has not provided the level of transparency required by major exchanges regarding token issuance, locking, and burning mechanisms. Regulatory scrutiny in regions like Vietnam and China, where Pi Network has been compared to multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes, further complicates its listing prospects.

Since missing out on Binance's approval, the price of Pi token has plummeted, dropping to around $0.56 in early April 2025, an 80% decline from its all-time high. While Pi has been listed on other platforms like OKX, Bitget, and MEXC, these exchanges do not offer the same level of exposure or liquidity as Binance. The token's price has been volatile, with short-lived spikes driven by speculation around mainnet rumors or exchange teasers, but it has struggled to maintain upward momentum. The Pi Core Team has been working on improving transparency and regulatory compliance, but it remains uncertain whether these efforts will be sufficient to win over major exchanges.

The future of Pi Network hinges on its ability to pivot into a functional ecosystem where Pi is used rather than traded. The project has a massive user base, with tens of millions of users, and has made efforts to promote real-world usage through campaigns like PiFest. Over 125,000 merchants reportedly signed up to accept Pi during the March 2025 event, although the actual payment volume remained flat. The Pi Core Team is also building its own ecosystem, including wallets, decentralized applications, and a proprietary Know Your Customer (KYC) system, to create a closed-loop economy. However, the token faces significant inflation pressure, with over 124 million Pi being unlocked in April alone and a total of 1.53 billion entering circulation in the next year. The migration process has also been problematic, with many users reporting lost tokens or endless verification loops.

Without major exchange listings, Pi Network faces an uphill battle. To succeed, it would need to solve the KYC backlog, build a real application layer, attract developers, and demonstrate meaningful payment activity. The more likely outcome is that Pi needs at least some exchange support to gain the liquidity, visibility, and trust it currently lacks. Without it, Pi may remain a well-intentioned experiment that never fully escapes its enclosed garden or, worse, collapses under the weight of its own hype. In short, while Pi Network does not need Binance to exist, thriving without major exchange support is a different story.