Why is the PI coin price continuously sluggish? Market pricing logic from the development stages of Pi Network

Since the Pi Network mainnet launched in February 2025 and related assets entered the public trading arena, the price trend of PI coins has continued to attract market attention. Compared to most cryptocurrencies, PI’s price movements exhibit distinct phased characteristics: intense volatility during the initial launch, a rebound attempt in the mid-term, followed by a prolonged weakening trend.

This article will analyze the main factors influencing PI coin’s price performance by examining its historical price trends on the Gate platform, from perspectives such as market pricing mechanisms, participation structures, and phased expectations, to help users understand its current market state more rationally. This article does not involve price predictions or investment advice.

When did PI coin’s slump begin?

According to the PI-USDT K-line chart on the Gate platform, after PI started trading on February 17, 2025, its price experienced a rapid surge in a short period and reached a phased high of about $3 on February 26.

Subsequently, PI’s price began to decline, dropping to around $0.4 at one point in April 2025. Although there was a rebound in early May, with the price briefly rising above $1.6, the overall trend did not fundamentally change. Since mid-May 2025, PI’s price has continued to decline, currently falling below $0.2, and has not yet formed a clear support zone.

From a temporal perspective, PI’s price slump is not triggered by a single event but is the result of multiple phased factors stacking up.

Why did PI Network experience sharp price fluctuations during its initial launch?

The significant price surge at the start of trading for PI is closely related to the common “price discovery phase” of new assets.

Before launch, the market lacked transparent, continuous trading data, and the price had not undergone sufficient market testing. Once PI began trading on the secondary market, early transactions in a relatively low-liquidity environment amplified price movements. This allowed small buy/sell volumes to drive rapid price changes, resulting in short-term intense volatility.

At the same time, Pi Network had already accumulated considerable community attention before launch. The initiation of trading attracted some long-term project followers into the market, further boosting initial trading activity. Under the combined influence of emotional release and an unstable pricing environment, the rapid upward movement of the price was somewhat phased and reasonable.

Why can’t the user base of Pi Network directly support the PI coin’s price?

According to official Pi Network data and third-party media reports, Pi Network has over 60 million registered users, with approximately 12 to 16 million users completing identity verification (KYC) during the mainnet migration phase. Additionally, Pi Network’s official Twitter has over 4 million followers.

While Pi Network has a large user base, the number of users alone does not equate to immediate market demand.

In the price formation process, actual trading behavior, usage scenarios, and circulation structure are the true influencing factors, rather than just registration or participation numbers. In the early stages of project development, the market needs time to observe whether these users will continue to engage in ecological activities and whether their participation will translate into real demand.

Therefore, the PI coin’s price has not been directly supported by user numbers; instead, it reflects the market’s ongoing observation of how “user scale translates into value.”

How do circulation expectations and supply structure impact PI coin’s price?

In the crypto market, prices not only reflect current supply and demand but also incorporate anticipated future changes.

Regarding the circulation pace and supply structure of PI, there has been long-standing discussion and expectations in the market. Before these pathways are fully clarified, some participants tend to remain cautious in their trading decisions. This expectation itself can exert a continuous influence on the price even before any actual change occurs.

In practice, the price trend of PI more often reflects conservative pricing formed under uncertainty, rather than a direct response to short-term supply and demand fluctuations.

Interpreting PI coin’s price trend: from phased rebounds to sustained weakness

After dipping to a low in April 2025, PI’s price maintained a period of consolidation and experienced a phased rebound in early May. Starting May 9, the price began to rise again, briefly surpassing $1.6 on May 12.

This rebound mainly reflects a short-term emotional correction in the market. After a prolonged decline, the price entered a relatively low zone, prompting some participants to trade based on phased judgments, which drove the price upward.

However, the subsequent trend showed that this rebound did not establish a lasting trend consensus. As market sentiment weakened again, PI’s price re-entered a downward channel, gradually breaking multiple psychological thresholds, indicating market caution amid current uncertainties.

The overall crypto market environment’s impact on PI coin’s price

The current price performance of PI also needs to be understood within the broader crypto market environment.

Since 2025, the market structure has shown clear differentiation among assets.

Bitcoin, as the core asset of the crypto market, was the first to break through previous highs, attracting significant capital. Meanwhile, mainstream blockchain assets like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) performed relatively modestly, without a strong rally synchronized with Bitcoin. This structural divergence has led market funds to concentrate more on a few core assets.

In this context, the widely anticipated “altcoin season” has not yet truly arrived. Most small- and mid-cap projects or those in early stages face relatively subdued trading activity and price performance. Capital allocation has become more cautious, with market participants preferring assets with higher liquidity and certainty.

For projects like PI, still in the development observation phase, this market environment implies stricter pricing logic. Before a broad consensus on rising prices among mainstream assets, the market generally does not assign high emotional premiums to early-stage projects, which suppresses their price performance.

Additionally, when the overall market lacks clear signals of increased risk appetite, new capital inflows are limited, and project prices are more influenced by existing trading behavior. This makes PI coin more likely to maintain low volatility or a weak trend in the current stage.

How to interpret the current PI Network stage and PI coin’s price level?

The current PI coin price is more like a phased equilibrium resulting from multiple uncertainties.

This price level reflects both the gradual digestion of high expectations at launch and the market’s cautious stance while waiting for clearer information. For projects still in development, such pricing states are common in the crypto industry.

In the long term, the change in PI coin’s price will still depend on the project’s development pace, ecological construction, and market environment evolution.

What does the future hold for PI?

It is important to emphasize that price trends alone cannot serve as the sole basis for judging a project’s future development.

From a project perspective, the market is more concerned with the actual progress of Pi Network in ecological development, usage scenarios, and participation methods. Only when these pathways become clearer can the market reassess its value.

From a market perspective, participant attitudes toward PI remain in an observation phase. Until uncertainties decrease, price performance tends to be conservative.

Therefore, understanding PI’s current situation is better approached from its developmental stage and market expectations rather than focusing solely on short-term price fluctuations.

Summary

Since its launch, PI’s price trend has exhibited clear phased features: rapid initial volatility, subsequent digestion of high expectations, phased rebounds, and current ongoing cautiousness, collectively forming its overall market profile.

For users, rationally understanding these structural factors behind price changes can help gain a more comprehensive view of PI coin’s current position and market environment.