PI is trading near $0.16, down more than 94% from its all-time high of $2.98. The token has bounced slightly from a recent low near $0.13, but sentiment remains weak, volume is modest, and early users are increasingly asking what comes next for the project.
Pi Network’s founders responded by arguing that the market chart does not reflect the work happening inside the ecosystem. Co-founder Dr. Chengdiao Fan said Pi was built outside the standard crypto launch model and still stands by that approach a year after the Open Network launch. She said Pi never held an ICO, uses free mobile mining to keep participation accessible, and runs a Mainnet blockchain that is fully tied to KYC identity verification.
Founders tie Pi���s utility thesis to full KYC verification
Fan framed KYC as a core design choice rather than a compliance add-on. According to her, Pi’s focus on utility is directly connected to identity verification, with a fully KYC’d network intended to prepare the blockchain for real-world assets and production processes. That puts Pi on a very different track from networks that allow anonymous participation and lean heavily on speculative trading activity.
She also made clear that the team does not see fast, high-volume trading as the main objective. In her view, getting tokens used inside actual products is the harder problem. She questioned the value of tokens that do not map to anything real, which helps explain why Pi hackathon projects often resemble e-commerce or dating apps rather than DeFi-driven speculation.
KYC migration, AI integration, and second migrations are current priorities
Co-founder Nicolas Kokkalis outlined the areas now getting the most attention. He said KYC and migration remain top priorities, with the team working to raise KYC throughput, unblock more users, and speed up processing through AI integration. Pi is also preparing second migrations so that more Pioneers can fully participate in the Mainnet ecosystem.
Kokkalis added that rewards for KYC validators are expected in this quarter. On the developer side, Pi is expanding tools and integrations to reduce the barrier to building inside the network, including faster payment setup tools. The team is also widening access to App Studio while adding new payment integrations and deeper AI capabilities.
Protocol work continues on nodes, DEX features, and liquidity pools
Beyond migration and app tooling, Pi says work is still ongoing at the protocol level. The list includes nodes, upgrades, DEX functionality, and liquidity pools. Even with the token under pressure, the message from the founders is consistent: resources are being directed toward Mainnet participation, developer tooling, and app utility rather than short-term trading momentum.
That leaves Pi trying to separate itself through identity-backed participation, mobile-first access, and product use cases. For now, the team’s answer to the sharp price decline is not a shift in strategy, but continued focus on migration, infrastructure, and application growth.