Pi Network: Technical analysis suggests further growth – but are manipulation concerns justified?

Updated: October 29, 2025 | Thorough analysis based on verified data

The price of Pi Network (PI) continues to rise despite controversial allegations of market manipulation. While technical patterns suggest the potential for further growth, investors should know the full story – including risks and unresolved issues.

Article content

• Audio and video overview [Czech]
• Audio and video overview [English]
• 📊 CURRENT MARKET STATE (October 29, 2025)
  • Price metrics
  • Market metrics
• 📈 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: What the charts really say
  • 1. Falling Wedge Pattern ✅ CONFIRMED
  • 2. Inverse Head and Shoulders ✅ PARTIALLY CONFIRMED
  • 3. Technical indicators
• ⚠️ ACCUSATIONS OF MANIPULATION: What is the truth?
  • 1. History of controversy
    • A) Bybit CEO called Pi a “scam” (February–March 2025)
    • B) 12 million PI token dump (May 2025)
    • C) $100 million fund fiasco (May 2025)
  • 2. Is the current growth manipulation?
  • 3. Our verdict
• ✅ WHAT IS REALLY TRUE (verified sources)
  • 1. KYC and Mainnet progress ✅
  • 2. Protocol 23 (v23) upgrade ✅
  • 3. Real price targets (realistic)?
• ❌ WHAT IS NOT TRUE – Myths Debunked
  • Myth #1: “Pi will achieve ISO 20022 compliance on November 22nd”
  • Myth #2: “Pi has 60+ million active users”
  • Myth #3: “Pi DEX launched, full DeFi functionality”
• 🚨 UNRESOLVED RISKS AND CHALLENGES
  • 1. Token Unlock Pressure ⚠️
  • 2. Absence on major exchanges ❌
  • 3. Lack of transparency ⚠️
  • 4. Centralization ⚠️
  • 5. Legal risks ⚠️
• 📊 REALISTIC PRICE PREDICTION
  • Short-term outlook (1–3 months)
  • Medium-term outlook (6–12 months)
  • Long-term outlook (2–5 years)
• 💡 CONCLUSION: What you should know
  • ✅ WHAT IS THE TRUTH:
  • ⚠️ WHAT IS THE RISK:
  • ❌ WHAT IS NOT TRUE:
• 🎯 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INVESTORS
  • For active traders:
  • For long-term investors:
  • For Pioneers (miners):
• 📚 RESOURCES
• Related articles …
• PiNetwork

Estimated reading time: 12 minut

Audio and video overview [Czech]

Audio and video overview [English]

---

📊 CURRENT MARKET STATE (October 29, 2025)

Price metrics

• Actual price: $0,2649–$0,2755 (depending on exchange)
• 24h change: +10,79% to +16,89%
• Weekly growth: + 35,64%
• Monthly growth: +96% from the low of $0,1517 (October 11)
• All time high: $2,98 (February 26, 2025)
• Down from ATH:-91,1%

Market metrics

• Marketcap: $2,18–2,27 billion
• 24h volume: $25,77–109 million
• Circulating offer: 8,28–8,29 billion PI
• Total offer: 12,75 billion PI
• Max supply: 100 billion PI
• FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation): $26,45–27,45 billion

---

📈 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: What the charts really say

1. Falling Wedge Pattern ✅ CONFIRMED

What is a falling wedge:
A falling wedge is bullish reversal pattern formed by two descending and converging trend lines. A breakout usually leads to significant growth.

The PI chart shows:

• Bottom of the wedge: $0,1517 (October 11, 2025)
• Breakthrough: Above the upper limit of the wedge around $0,25
• Wedge width: ~40% (top to bottom)
• Price target: $0,3272 (+23% from current price)
• Extended target: $0,50 (+88% from current price)

Source: CoinGape technical analysis, TradingView data

2. Inverse Head and Shoulders ✅ PARTIALLY CONFIRMED

Pattern structure:

• Head: $0,1517 (October 11)
• Shoulders: ~$0,20 (before and after head)
• Neckline: ~$0,25

Status: The pattern is almost complete, but is awaiting definitive confirmation by closing above the neckline.

3. Technical indicators

RSI (Relative Strength Index):

• Current value: 45–50 (neutral)
• Last week: 32 (oversold)
• Interpretation: Recovery from oversold zone indicates renewed buyer interest

Moving averages:

• 7-day SMA: $0,21 (beaten ✅)
• 50-day SMA: $0,27-0,29 (tested)
• 200-day SMA: $0,48 (long-term resistance)

Fibonacci retracement:

• 23,6% level: $0,251 (tested)
• 38,2% level: $0,30-$0,32 (next resistance)

---

⚠️ ACCUSATIONS OF MANIPULATION: What is the truth?

1. History of controversy

A) Bybit CEO called Pi a “scam” (February–March 2025)

What happened:

• Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, publicly called Pi Network a "more dangerous than memecoins" a "scam"
• He declared: "Bybit never flips Pi"
• He criticized the lack of a functional product and the anonymity of the founders

Pi Network's response:

• Core Team denied the claims and highlighted 6 years of development and 60+ million users
• Pi Community attacked Bybit – Google Play rating dropped from 5 to 2,7 stars
• Pi is still not on Bybit, Binance or Coinbase

Verified facts:

• ✅ Ben Zhou actually called Pi a "scam" (March 2, 2025)
• ✅ Pi community made a coordinated attack on Bybit ratings
• ❌ “Anonymous Founders” – INJUSTICE: Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan are public figures from Stanford University

B) 12 million PI token dump (May 2025)

What is claimed:

• Crypto analyst Atlas accuses Pi Core Team of selling out 12 million PI tokens
• Price dropped from $1,67 to $0,81 (-51%)
• Alleged "pump and dump" scheme worth 8 billion USD

Verified facts:

• ✅ PI price actually dropped from $1,67 (May 12) to $0,81 (May 21)
• ⚠️ On-chain data shows massive token outflow from one wallet
• ❌ A direct connection to the Pi Core Team has never been OFFICIALLY confirmed
• ⚠️ Blockchain analysis indicates suspicious activity, but the evidence is not clear

C) $100 million fund fiasco (May 2025)

What the Pi Core Team announced:

• 14. May 2025: Pi Network Ventures – $100 million fund to support startups
• Goal: Investment in DApps, gaming, AI, fintech, e-commerce

Community reaction:

• 94% of Pioneers doesn't even have 1000 PI tokens
• They felt "betrayed" - Core Team invests money instead of rewarding the community
• The price rose briefly, then fell to $0,80

Verified facts:

• ✅ Pi Network Ventures was actually launched on May 14, 2025
• ✅ The fund comes from 10% of tokens reserved for the Pi Foundation
• ⚠️ Until October 29, 2025 No specific investments were disclosed.
• ❌ Fund transparency = zero

2. Is the current growth manipulation?

Arguments FOR manipulation:

1. No apparent catalyst – 96% growth in 3 weeks without any major news
2. History of suspicious price movements – pump before big events, then dump
3. Low liquidity – easy handling for large holders
4. High centralization – 96,37% of tokens in top 100 wallets
5. Volume increased dramatically – from 25 million to 109 million USD (+336%)

Arguments AGAINST manipulation:

1. ✅ Technical patterns are legitimate – falling wedge is a standard pattern
2. ✅ Correlation with Bitcoin – BTC rose to $116,000, the entire alt market rose
3. ✅ 10+ million PIs left the exchanges – indication of long-term holding, not pump & dump
4. ✅ 3,36 million new KYCs – legitimate positive fundamental news
5. ✅ Protocol 23 upgrade – real technological progress

3. Our verdict

⚠️ THE TRUTH IS MORE COMPLEX:

PiNetwork HAS a history of controversy a lack of transparency. However The current growth can be explained by a combination of:

1. Technical analysis – legitimate breakout of the falling wedge pattern
2. Fundamental progress – KYC milestone, Protocol 23
3. Macro sentiment – the entire crypto market is growing
4. Speculative FOMO – low liquidity exaggerates movements

Is this manipulation?

• ❌ Not in the classical sense "pump & dump" scheme
• ⚠️ But high centralization and low transparency create risk

---

✅ WHAT IS REALLY TRUE (verified sources)

1. KYC and Mainnet progress ✅

• 3,36 million new KYCs completed in October 2025
• 21,36 million total of verified Pioneers
• 2,69 million migrated on mainnet in the last week
• 10,14 million identified users on the mainnet

Source: Pi Core Team Official Announcement (October 27, 2025), Coinfomania

2. Protocol 23 (v23) upgrade ✅

Launched: Q4 2025 on Testnet2
New features:

• Smart contracts
• DeFi tools
• Improved Stellar Consensus Protocol implementation

Source: Phemex, Pi Network documentation

3. Real price targets (realistic) ^?

Bullish scenario (60% probability in the short term):

• Nearest resistance: $0,28-$0,30
• Falling wedge target: USD 0,33-0,36 (+30-40%)
• Optimistic target: $0,50 (+88%) – but very speculative

Bearish scenario (40% probability):

• Sinking below: 0,25 USD
• Return to: $0,20-$0,22 (7-day SMA)
• Worst case: 0,15-0,17 USD (All-time low)

---

❌ WHAT IS NOT TRUE – Myths Debunked

Myth #1: “Pi will achieve ISO 20022 compliance on November 22nd”

Media claims:

• "Pi Network Joins ISO 20022 Group" (CoinGape)
• "Pi aligns with XRP and Stellar for banking integration"
• "After November 22, governments can start accepting Pi"

VERIFIED TRUTH:

• ❌ Pi Network is NOT on the official list ISO 20022 compliant assets
• ❌ No official announcement from Pi Core Team about ISO 20022 certification
• ❌ November 22, 2025 is the deadline for BANKS, not for cryptocurrencies
• ⚠️ "Joining ISO 20022" is misleading – it means technical compatibility, not automatic recognition

What November 22nd really means:
Global banks complete migration to ISO 20022 messaging standard. Cryptocurrencies may be compatible, Of it is not automatic.

Myth #2: “Pi has 60+ million active users”

Reality:

• ✅ 60+ million registrations (sometimes claimed 70+ million)
• ✅ 21,36 million KYCs verified
• ✅ 10,14 million on mainnet
• ⚠️ Active traders: Probably much less

Most "users" still benefit from the phone, Of did not migrate to mainnet.

Myth #3: “Pi DEX launched, full DeFi functionality”

Reality:

• ⚠️ Pi DEX and AMM are on TESTNET, not on mainnet
• ❌ Public launch not confirmed (some sources say December 2025)
• ✅ Protocol 23 adds smart contracts, but the ecosystem is still in its early stages

---

🚨 UNRESOLVED RISKS AND CHALLENGES

1. Token Unlock Pressure ⚠️

November–December 2025:

• 121–172 million PI will be released monthly
• At the current price of $0,26 = $31–45 million sales pressure

Question: Can the market absorb this supply without a dramatic price drop?

2. Absence on major exchanges ❌

Where PI is NOT:

• Binance ❌
• Coinbase ❌
• Kraken ❌
• Bybit ❌ (refuses to scroll)

Where PI IS:

• OKX ✅
• Gate.io ✅
• Bitget ✅
• MEXC ✅

Consequence: Limited liquidity, higher volatility, less institutional access

3. Lack of transparency ⚠️

What the Pi Core Team DID NOT DISCLOSE:

• ❌ Detailed roadmap with specific dates
• ❌ Investment from $100 million fund
• ❌ Clear tokenomics and unlock schedule
• ❌ Identity of all validators (centralization)

4. Centralization ⚠️

Critical points:

• 96,37% of tokens in the top 100 wallets
• Validators still being checked Core team
• KYC mandatory even for transactions (compared to most cryptocurrencies)

5. Legal risks ⚠️

Warning from regulators:

• China: Warning about Pi Network as a potential scam
• Bybit CEO: Publicly called the project a scam
• Lack of registration: Pi does not have a clear legal status in many jurisdictions

---

📊 REALISTIC PRICE PREDICTION

Short-term outlook (1–3 months)

Bullish scenario (50% probability):

• Q4 2025: $0,30-$0,36
• Catalysts: Token unlock absorption, Protocol 23 mainnet launch, new exchanges

Bearish scenario (50% probability):

• Q4 2025: $0,15-$0,22
• Catalysts: Massive token unlock, profit realization, lack of new news

Medium-term outlook (6–12 months)

Optimistic (30% probability):

• 2026:1 p.m.: $0,40-$0,50
• Conditions: Binance listing, true ISO 20022 integration, DeFi ecosystem developed

Realistic (50% probability):

• 2026:1 p.m.: $0,20-$0,30
• Conditions: Gradual development without major breakthroughs

Pessimistic (20% probability):

• 2026:1 p.m.: $0,10-$0,15
• Conditions: More manipulation scandals, community exodus, regulatory issues

Long-term outlook (2–5 years)

⚠️ HIGHLY SPECULATIVE:

CoinGape prediction (should be taken with a grain of salt):

• 2026: $0,21–$0,32 (average $0,29)
• 2030: $0,33–$0,58 (average $0,41)

Our opinion:
The long-term value of PI depends on:

1. ✅ Real utility in the real world
2. ✅ Network decentralization
3. ✅ Core Team transparency
4. ✅ Listing on major exchanges
5. ✅ Regulatory clarity

Without these milestones, $0.50+ is highly unlikely.

---

💡 CONCLUSION: What you should know

✅ WHAT IS THE TRUTH:

1. Technical analysis is legitimate – falling wedge pattern is real
2. Fundamental progress is underway – KYC, Protocol 23, mainnet migration
3. Growth is partially explainable – combination of technique, fundamentals and macro trend
4. Pi Network is not a “scam” in the classic sense – mainnet works, development continues

⚠️ WHAT IS THE RISK:

1. The history of controversy is real – 12 million token dump, $100 million fund without transparency
2. High centralization – 96% of tokens in top 100 wallets
3. Lack of transparency – Core Team does not share key information
4. Token unlock pressure – 121–172 million PI per month
5. Absence on major exchanges – limited liquidity

❌ WHAT IS NOT TRUE:

1. ISO 20022 "automatic compliance" – misleading clickbait
2. "Pi is the biggest scam of 2025" – exaggerated, but the risks exist
3. "Guaranteed growth to $0.50" – no guarantees in crypto

---

🎯 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INVESTORS

For active traders:

✅ Watch these levels:

• Resistance: $0,28, $0,30, $0,36
• support: $0,25, $0,20, $0,17

✅ Indicators to monitor:

• RSI above 50 = bullish momentum continues
• Volume over $80m = healthy liquidity
• Bitcoin above $115,000 = positive macro

⚠️ Stop loss recommendation:

• Conservative: $0,23 (-13%)
• Aggressive: $0,20 (-23%)

For long-term investors:

✅ Look out for these milestones:

1. Binance/Coinbase listing
2. Transparent reporting of the 100 million fund
3. Protocol 23 mainnet launch
4. True decentralization of validators
5. Clear regulatory position

⚠️ Diversify:

• Do not add more than 2-5% portfolios to PI
• Pi is highly speculative and volatile

For Pioneers (miners):

✅ Migrate to mainnet – complete KYC
✅ Don't expect quick riches – Pi is not a “get rich quick”
✅ Follow ONLY official sources – minepi.com
⚠️ Don't trust third parties – PiBridge is not official

---

📚 RESOURCES

Price data:

• CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, OKX, Gate.io (October 29, 2025)

Technical analysis:

• CoinGape, TradingView, Yahoo Finance

Fundamental data:

• Pi Core Team official blog (minepi.com)
• Coinfomania (verified KYC news)
• Phemex (Protocol 23 upgrade)

History of controversy:

• VietnamNet, Cryptodnes, CoinEdition (Bybit CEO), Yellow.com
• Binance Square, Crypto Mus (12 million token dump)
• Dig Watch, Reddit r/PiNetwork (100M fund)

---

Warning:

This article is not financial advice. Pi Network is a highly volatile and risky asset. Only invest funds you can afford to lose. Always do your own thorough research (DYOR^?).

PiBazar.eu is committed to transparency and fact-checking. If you find an inaccuracy, contact us.

Related articles …

• Exchanges with Pi Network – List Confirmed
• Why did PI Network price increase by 22% in 24 hours? Complete growth analysis from October 27, 2025
• Pi Network under the magnifier
• Pi Network: Technical correction continues, but fundamentals strengthen – Analysis October 2025
• Pi Network and ISO 20022: What is truth and what is speculation ?

You might also like:

• Free shares worth up to €100 on Trading 212
• Pi Network and “$314,159 Value”: The Biggest Hoax in the Project’s History
• Where to watch, listen and read PiBazar.eu externally
• OKX launches PI/USDC pair as Pi network faces liquidity issues
• CS GO skins
• Spin Master Batman Batmobile
• Required Action: Submit your questions for Pi Hackathon Q&A Session #1
• Access token – Pi Network