"I saw a post selling a used iPhone 11 and thought I could buy it with a dozen Pi tokens," Thanh Son of HCMC told VnExpress.
But it turned out he could only pay 10 percent with Pi and the remaining VND12.5 million ($535) had to be paid in cash.
"I can easily buy the same phone for VND12.5 million without spending a single Pi," he said wistfully, adding it was a trick sellers used to entice Pi owners.
Advertisement
He later contacted some other sellers and got pretty much the same answer.
"Some places require a smaller proportion of cash but they undervalue Pi."
Some investors had begun to claim they bought food and equipment using Pi on social media since July 13 when the cryptocurrency’s developers allowed it to be traded.
Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Vietnam, and issuing, trading or using one for payment attract fines of up to VND100 million.
Sellers try to avoid legal risks by calling deals using Pi "exchanges" rather than "transactions."
