Pi Network’s (PI) native token dropped more than 65% following the project’s highly anticipated mainnet launch

Pi Network allows users to mine cryptocurrency directly from their mobile phones, unlike traditional mining methods that require energy-intensive hardware.

Pi Network, a mobile-based cryptocurrency project, saw its native token, PI, experience a significant drop of more than 65% following the highly anticipated launch of its mainnet.

On Feb. 20, Pi Network announced the official launch of its “Open Network,” which allows users to access centralized exchanges and other businesses outside of its ecosystem.

As part of the launch, several crypto trading platforms, including Bitget, OKX and MEXC, listed the PI token on their exchanges on Feb. 20.

With the tokens becoming available for users to trade, the price of PI rapidly fell from a high of $1.84 to $0.64 at the time of writing.

Pi Network’s price chart. Source: CoinGecko

CEO Ben Zhou says Bybit will not list PI

While some exchanges listed the PI token, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit took a different stance on the matter. In a post shared on X, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou accused the project of being a scam.

Highlighting a warning issued by Chinese police in 2023, Zhou pointed out that authorities in China had advised users to stay away from the project, describing it as a “scam” that targeted the elderly.

Accusing the Pi Network team of failing to address the reports questioning the project’s legitimacy, Zhou also noted that Bybit did not request to have the PI token listed on the exchange.

“The Pi Network team can continue to spread rumors. We will not list any tokens without the exchange’s application,” he said.

“As for whether Pi Network is a scam, everyone can judge for themselves. Bybit will definitely not help any project scam users.”

The Bybit executive went on to state that the exchange has no plans to list the Pi Network token.

Cointelegraph reached out to Pi Network for comments but received no response before publication.

Pi Network enables users to mine cryptocurrency directly from their mobile phones, in contrast to traditional cryptocurrency mining methods that require energy-intensive hardware.

The project claims to have amassed more than 60 million users. However, blockchain explorers only show 9.1 million users.

While the project also claims to be decentralized, the network is still controlled by its core team, without any signs of independent validators joining the network.

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