Pi Network's constant volatility in the first year of mainnet: between technical promises and market disappointments

When Pi Network activated its Open Network on February 19, 2025, the crypto community expected the culmination of years of anticipation. After countless delays, KYC verification issues, and doubts about the project’s credibility, the launch finally took place on major trading platforms. Yet, the market reality proved to be quite different from the hopes built up during the long development period.

Price Performance: the Crash After Initial Euphoria

The PI token began its trading journey with great enthusiasm. At the end of February 2025, the price reached a historic high of $2.99, generating excitement among holders and hope for continued increases. However, this peak proved to be fleeting. From that moment, the token embarked on a long and steady decline that characterized the rest of the year.

In the following months, PI experienced progressive drops without any real structural recovery. The decline was only interrupted by brief surges coinciding with team announcements: in May, unverified rumors about a possible listing on one of the major platforms temporarily pushed the price above $1.70, but the subsequent disappointment accelerated the decline further. By early October, PI recorded a new all-time low of $0.172, representing a 95% crash from the peak reached just eight months earlier.

Currently, with the price around $0.18, the token trades at levels approximately 92-93% lower than the maximum. This represents one of the most disappointing performances among projects that launched mainnet in 2025, creating a significant gap between the expectations built during years of waiting and the operational reality.

Ecosystem Developments Are Not Enough to Support the Price

Despite the price difficulties, the Pi Network team did not halt technical and organizational developments. Immediately after the mainnet launch, the window to complete KYC procedures was extended, a crucial element to ensure regulatory compliance. Simultaneously, the project organized Pi Day 2025 in March with global celebrations, maintaining an emotional connection with the community.

The ecosystem was enriched with several initiatives. The Pi Ad Network was introduced, allowing all registered applications to access the advertising network. In the field of artificial intelligence, Pi App Studio was launched, signaling the project’s ambition to position itself in the emerging AI sector. During the summer, the first mainnet hackathon took place, accompanied by Pi2Day events.

On the financial side, the team announced the Pi Network Ventures Fund, endowed with $100 million to finance entrepreneurial projects built on the Pi ecosystem. This move reflects the intention to create concrete use cases and real utility for the token.

The Contrast Between Technical Dynamics and Price Dynamics

The situation presents a notable paradox: while the project shows concrete progress in technical development and ecosystem expansion, the price performance remains disappointing. Maintaining support around $0.20 has been interpreted by some analysts as a positive signal of stabilization, suggesting that the worst may be over.

However, comparing with competing projects offers interesting perspectives. Sei Network, also launched in 2025, faced a similar initial decline but subsequently benefited from targeted investments in its ecosystem, managing to recover some of the lost ground. This scenario could represent a possible trajectory for Pi Network as well, if the team manages to turn announcements into concrete results and generate genuine utility demand.

Future Outlook and Critical Factors

The fate of Pi Network will depend on the next concrete steps of the project. Three elements are crucial: the practical implementation of applications built on the ecosystem, the actual results of the Pi Network Ventures Fund investments, and transparent communication with the community regarding roadmap and timelines.

The ongoing distrust from investors, linked to past prolonged delays, poses a significant psychological obstacle. Turning sentiment from negative to positive will require not only announcements but especially concrete evidence of functionality and real adoption. In the near future, the quality of execution will outweigh marketing efforts in determining whether Pi Network can regain market trust.