Pi Network: Rise and Fall of a Crypto Ghost Chain

Pi Network surged to a $3 high in February 2025 before collapsing to about $0.2040, erasing billions in market value as listings and KYC moves shaped its liquidity.

Rich by Coin

2025-12-24

Pi Network, a crypto project that aimed to disrupt the industry, has become one of the biggest flops of 2025 as it fell from a record high of $3 in February to around $0.2040. The token’s market capitalization shrank from nearly $20 billion to about $1.7 billion, erasing billions in value. Pi Network was launched by Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan to disrupt the crypto industry by solving some of the existing challenges.

For example, unlike Bitcoin, anyone can mine Pi Coin using their smartphone. Launched in 2019, the project went viral globally, attracting over 60 million people who hoped to make a fortune mining the token. Pi Network app has over 100 million downloads on Android. The project transitioned to the enclosed mainnet in December 2021, a period where the mainnet was ready but limited to external connectivity.

The enclosed mainnet period ended in February this year, allowing the token to be listed by a cryptocurrency exchange. Some of the companies that listed it are OKX, MEXC, Gate, and LBank. However, pioneers had to pass a rigorous know your customer (KYC) process to move their tokens from the enclosed mainnet to the mainnet.

The goal was to ensure that all tokens that move to the mainnet are associated with a real individual. The lack of these listings means that millions of people don’t have access to the token and that its liquidity remains low. The Pi Network team is pursuing updates, including a testnet for the token generator, automated market maker (AMM), and a decentralized exchange (DEX) to bolster utility. The hope is that its DEX platform will be as successful as other large players like Aave and Raydium.

The developers have also made two investments: CiDi Games and OpenMind, to grow the ecosystem in the long term. CiDi Games will introduce gaming features, while OpenMind aims to make Pi an AI platform. They have registered the coin for Europe’s MICA, which could lead to major exchange listings in the region. Therefore, while Pi Network’s price has plunged, a rebound cannot be ruled out if wider crypto markets recover, as weakness also weighed on other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin.