Pi Network users have made allegations of rug pull against the project's creators following the recent price drop. In a post on X, one of the prominent members of the Pi Community, Dr. Picoin, claimed that insiders sold off millions of tokens.
According to Dr. Picoin, the sell-off by insiders occurred after recent announcements regarding upgrades and improvements to the Pi Network at Consensus 2025. He claimed that the hype surrounding these announcements drove the value of PI high and insiders took the opportunity to sell.
He said:
“The core team sold tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of Pi at the peak—while the community was distracted by announcements and illusions of progress.”
Interestingly, users who accused fraud and sell-offs pointed to blockchain data showing a wallet allegedly controlled by the Pi Core Team transferred 12 million PI in the past 24 hours.
However, some other users have disputed the claims, noting that there was no rug pull. Pinnewszone on X explained that the wallet many believe is selling is a distribution wallet that the Pi Core Team uses to move user balances onto the main network.
They posted:
“Don't be fooled by the misinformation spreading on X. The Core team is not selling pi. You are just being influenced to sell off so they can buy at a lower price.”
While community members are debating what is happening, the Pi Core Team remains silent, causing fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) to spread among users.
The PI token lost over 50% in a week as users awaited the mainnet
Meanwhile, most concerns from users alleging rug pull seem to be related to the sharp drop in the price of PI this week. The token reached $1.60 on May 12 but began to sell off since then and is now at $0.679, corresponding to a drop of about 58%.
Dr. Picoin posted:
“Don't ask me—ask the co-founders to explain: why did the price suddenly drop from $1.60 to $0.70 when, in fact, the update from PCT should be considered a positive development?”
However, the decline is primarily due to the disappointing wait of most users expecting the network to transition to mainnet. A post from the official Pi Core Team account excited users last week when it hinted at a major announcement.
Most people were expecting this announcement to relate to the long-awaited mainnet launch, but it was the launch of the Pi Network Venture fund. News of the $100 million fund for a Pi Network-based project was not very impressive to most users.
Interestingly, the trading volume of PI has dropped 34% to $328.54 million in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Trading volume has also decreased since it peaked at $2.03 billion on May 13.
This indicates that holders sold on rumors, meaning they sold off tokens while it was still rising in price before the team announced the launch of the venture capital fund. Since the announcement on May 14, trading volume has dropped below $1 billion.
Pi Network announces new upgrades at Consensus 2025
Meanwhile, Pi Network continues to develop even as users await the mainnet launch, which still has no projected date. The network's founder, Dr. Nicholas Kokkalis, revealed at Consensus that Pi Network has now closed its central node to enable full decentralization of the network.
He further stated that their node operating software now has a new version called Horizon, available for node operators to upgrade. Horizon is said to provide security, performance, and protocol.
Interestingly, Kokkalis said in a speech titled “Unlocking Mainstream Adoption with AI + Blockchain Infrastructure” that Pi Network will integrate artificial intelligence. He urged AI companies to build AI applications on the network, while also mentioning plans to improve Pi Network's technical infrastructure.