Ben Zhou, CEO of the Bybit exchange, cited a notice from Chinese police in 2023, advising that Pi Network is a scam, targeting the elderly, leaking personal data and causing financial losses.
According to a report from the Wute City Police, some elderly people in China have downloaded the Pi Network app at the invitation of others, providing important identification documents and being scammed into investing. Scammers use "free" and "gift" tricks to attract participants, then encourage them to lure more people to receive rewards, while selling personal information and financial scams.
In a post on social network X, Mr. Zhou affirmed that Bybit had never had any agreements with the Pi Network team and would not post the currency. He emphasized: "If the project is legal, they should be transparent in the reports so that everyone can understand, instead of fabricating and carrying out baseless attacks. Bybit will not list scams.
The Pi Network project began opening on February 20, with a total circulating supply of 6.3 billion token and an initial listed price of about 2 USD. However, the price of Pi quickly fluctuated strongly, increasing to more than 3 USD, then decreasing to 0.9 USD, then fluctuating around 1.4-1.7 USD before falling to 0.79 USD. Thus, the value of Pi has been reduced by more than half in less than a trading day.
Pi Network was launched in 2019, promoted as helping users own free money by scoring daily on the application. When the project announced the Open Network plan on February 12, allowing Pi to be traded outside, Mr. Zhou immediately announced that he would not list the currency. He also had trouble when an elderly person asked him to return the money after investing at a loss.
expert Haotian of CryptoInsight believes that Pi Network is popular in markets with low financial awareness, with slogans like "a Pi for a Bitcoin" that make many misunderstand the real value of this currency. According to him, the strong market reaction to the listing of Pi shows that this project has many worrying problems.
According to CoinMarketCap statistics, Bybit is the world's second largest cryptocurrency exchange after Binance. Meanwhile, Binance has been surveying public opinion since February 13 on whether to list Pi Network, but has not yet made an official decision.
Before launching the network, many Pi players expected the price of this currency to be very high, even calling for a "consensus price" of 500 to 1,000 USD per Pi. Some communities have even given the " Global Consensus value" (GCV) figure at 314,159 USD. However, according to OneSafe, these prices are unrealistic. With a total supply of 100 billion Pi, the capitalization of this currency will be "unimaginable" if it follows those expectations.
The Crypto Times commented: "Pi Network has existed thanks to exaggeration and taking advantage of investor emotions, like Hamster Kombat. However, over time, people will judge whether Pi is truly a sustainable project or not."
In Vietnam, representatives of the State Bank have repeatedly sent out the message: Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies are not legal currencies and payment methods in Vietnam. The issuance, supply, and use of Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies as a means of payment is an act that is not in accordance with current law.
