Pi Network's biggest secret exposed: Is the $2.8 billion market capitalization just an illusion? The real value that no one tells you.

For many years, Pi Network (PI) has swept the world with the slogan "everyone can mine," attracting tens of millions of users to easily mine Pi coins through their mobile phones, without consuming electricity or requiring expensive hardware. Today, its market capitalization is estimated to be as high as $2.8 billion, but behind this dazzling number lies a little-discussed secret — this valuation may be built solely on extremely limited liquidity and speculative sentiment.

The "Closed" Truth of Pi Network

Although Pi has been listed for trading on some CEX exchanges with clear trading pairs, its network functionality is still in a semi-closed state.

KYC migration is slow: millions of miners' tokens are locked in wallets and cannot be freely transferred to exchanges.

Centralized Control: The core team controls all mainnet validator nodes, and the token circulation pace is entirely determined by them.

Liquidity is extremely limited: the daily trading volume is only about $20–35 million, yet it supports a market capitalization of $2.8 billion.

This means that the current price does not reflect the free market value of the 9 billion circulating coins, but is based on a special environment where "supply is strictly limited."

Why Top Exchanges Keep Their Distance

One of the biggest market capitalization doubts about Pi Network is that it has never been able to make it onto the list of top global exchanges.

Centralization and governance risks: A single team controls the nodes and protocol upgrades, which goes against the spirit of decentralization.

Lack of transparency: The circulation, the team's holding ratio, and the details of token burn have not been fully disclosed.

Regulatory and reputational risks: Relying on a recommended mining model, which has been labeled as "multi-level marketing" by certain regulatory agencies.

For top CEX exchanges operating under global regulatory pressure, these risks are enough for them to choose to wait and see.

$2.8 billion market capitalization "ghost valuation"

In the cryptocurrency market, high market capitalization + low trading volume is often a signal that the price is overvalued.

Insufficient trading volume: shallow liquidity pool, a small amount of funds can maintain a high price.

Supply pressure hidden: Once the network is fully open, millions of miners may sell off simultaneously, and prices may face a sharp drop.

Speculative driving: The current valuation relies more on community belief and future vision rather than the current technology and application implementation.

Future Value: Revolution or Illusion?

(Source: Trading View)

Supporters believe that the simple mining model of Pi Network can penetrate regions with weak financial infrastructure, becoming a digital barter tool and even a gateway to the popularization of cryptocurrency.

However, critics warn that without true free trading and transparent governance, the value of PI coin will eventually return to reality.

Pessimistic forecast: The price may drop to a fraction of a cent after listing.

Optimistic forecast: If the ecosystem is realized, the price may have a chance to surge to 1–5 dollars.

Conclusion

The biggest secret of Pi Network lies not in whether it can be traded, but in whether its market capitalization truly reflects market value. The current price is built on closed circulation and speculative sentiment. Once the supply is unlocked and fully released, the market will face a true value test. Will it become the next digital revolution, or a cautionary tale in the history of cryptocurrency? The answer may be revealed soon. For more in-depth analysis of the crypto market, please follow the official Gate platform.