A mobile-centric cryptocurrency initiative known as The Pi Network is facing harsh scrutiny, especially from Bybit’s co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou, who issued some severe claims regarding its clarity and sustainability in the long run. Zhou’s discontenting concerns due to Bybit’s refusal to list PI has sparked intense discussion within the cryptocurrency industry, fearing the project may end up misleading vulnerable users.
Zhou’s Sticking Out Concern: Absence of Realistic Guarantees
Zhou has been especially public regarding The Pi Network’s rampant undisclosed information, or lack of it. His main focus, however, is the lack of a visible team which claims presence of a Stanford associate. Alleges Zhou: “It is strange—you cannot find the team behind the project. They mention someone from Stanford, but you have never seen or heard them speak about it.”
Zhou has set himself on a course of campaigning where he calls for the founders to step forward, engage with the users via a live stream, and without hesitation make clear all operations involving the project. Instead, Zhou points out the reality Pi Network resorted to attacking him and Bybit for his statements.
Moreover, Zhou berated the unfulfilled promises made by the project over the years. He remarked, “They promote everything claiming that by merely pressing a button, a person can make a lot of money immediately.” He also added, “But no one ever tells how those profits are made. A lot of people have got nothing, but every so often, there are some inter leaks of information.”
“Worse Than Meme Coins”: Accusation of a Ponzi Scheme:
Zhou’s most serious allegation is that the Pi Network functions like a Ponzi scheme – paying profits to earlier investors with funds from newer participants. He claims this is more dangerous than meme coins because it targets people who do not understand cryptocurrency.
“Meme coins are a risk in of itself. Everyone involved knows that the market in this regard is extremely volatile and accepts the consequences of their actions,” Zhou stated. “But with Pi, the project brings in a huge amount people while providing zero explanation on what’s actually happening.”
He claims the likes of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are meme coins, and while they may be incredibly speculative, volatile, and untrustworthy, the Pi Network’s promise of easy money is far worse to unsuspecting users.
Bybit’s Position and the Community Outrage:
The refusal by Bybit to list PI as stated by Zhou on his X (formerly Twitter) account received a lot of backlash from the Pi Network community. Supporters claimed that Bybit “not meeting standards” is an indicator that they were “not permitted” to list PI.
The Pi Network criticized Zhou, but denied any links to social media coordinated campaigns directed at him.
Also, after failing to list PI Binance also faced a slew of one star reviews on app stores even when there was a poll that suggested some support from the community for listing it. All this demonstrates the sometimes aggressive but very passionate user base of Pi Network.
The Postponed Mainnet And Real-Life Trading:
With a launch year of 2019, Pi Network gained recognition for allowing users to mine PI through a simple daily tap on their smartphones. However, the actual launch of the mainnet was pushed back by almost 6 years.
On February 20, 2023 the Pi Network reached a major milestone when it allowed users to transfer PI to exchanges. But there are serious doubts regarding the project’s long term viability and the sustainability of its promises.
Why Doing Your Homework is Important…
… As Zhou put it, ‘it is better to exercise caution than to risk losing everything’. Every user in the crypto world needs to practice due diligence. Start checking what projects are out there, explore their intentions, and evaluate the associated risks.
Zhou does emphasize the importance of trust in other people, but he supports any argument for trusting people – including arguments claiming due to lack of clarity surrounding the Pi Network. Moving on, having untrustworthy people who wish to serve as mentors for people brand new to the scene poses a very significant challenge for all existing and future investors.
Without receiving the right information, if inexperienced users intend to educate themselves in crypto jargon with goals to invest into projects out of pure intention to succeed working, be aware that this introduces new challenges. Last but not least, the investment world as a whole is systematically overburdening users aiming to gain the right financial freedom.
