Pi Network Project Status and Mainnet Progress
Pi Network aims to lower the barrier to entry for cryptocurrency participation through mobile mining. As of September 2026, Pi Network remains in the "Enclosed Mainnet" phase, meaning Pi coins cannot yet be freely transferred or traded on public exchanges. The core team previously anticipated launching the "Open Mainnet" in Q1 2025, with one of the launch conditions being 10 million users completing KYC verification and migrating to the mainnet. According to data from December 2024, 18 million users had completed KYC, with 8 million users already migrated to the enclosed mainnet. The team's goal at the time was to reach 10 million user migrations by early 2025.
The Pi Network core team, led by Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan, emphasizes that the value of Pi coin will be based on its ecosystem and utility. They have explicitly stated that Pi Network officially has never authorized any exchange to list Pi coin and warns users not to purchase tokens from third parties.
Market Performance and Risks of IOU Tokens
The "surge" and "retrace" mentioned in the article title primarily refer to the price fluctuations of Pi Network's IOU (I Owe You) tokens on some exchanges. These IOU tokens are not officially issued Pi coins, and their trading reflects market expectations for the future value of Pi coin after the open mainnet launch.
- Historical Surge: Historical data shows that Pi coin (IOU) surged to a peak of $307.49 when it was first listed in late 2022 (December 30, 2022). Other reports mention that the IOU token price once broke above $120, with a 350% increase, prior to Pi Network's fifth anniversary celebration.
- Recent Retrace: Entering September 2026, the price of Pi coin (IOU) experienced a retrace. For example, after the Protocol 27 upgrade was released, affected by the "buy the rumor, sell the news" effect, the price once fell by 2.05% within 24 hours.
- Current Price and Trading Volume: As of September 22, 2026, the real-time price of Pi Network [IOU] fluctuates between $0.08 and $0.09. For instance, CoinGecko shows its price at approximately $0.08310, down 0.20% in 24 hours and 14.00% in 7 days. Its 24-hour trading volume varies across different data sources, with CoinGecko showing approximately $296,800, Bybit showing approximately $385,600, and CoinStats showing approximately $3.22 million.
- Market Cap and Supply: Since Pi Network officially does not report circulating supply, the market cap data for Pi Network [IOU] typically shows "insufficient data" or "-$1". The total supply of Pi coin is reportedly 100 billion, with 80 billion allocated to the community and 20 billion to the core team.
The trading of IOU tokens is highly speculative, with price fluctuations primarily driven by market sentiment and expectations, rather than actual on-chain activity or project fundamentals. Investors face risks such as mainnet launch delays, uncertainty in the token economic model, and official non-recognition of trading.
Pi Network's Doubts and Challenges
Since its launch, Pi Network has attracted millions of users worldwide with its "mobile mining" concept, but it has also been plagued by controversy and doubts.
- "Vaporware" Doubts: Many analysts believe that before the open mainnet launch, the Pi coins held by users are more like "vaporware," with their value entirely dependent on market speculation and user expectations, lacking clear actual value support.
- Ambiguous Economic Model: Pi Network's token economic model is controversial. Early players accumulated a large number of Pi coins through mobile mining, and once the open mainnet is launched, this large hoard of tokens may face significant selling pressure, impacting market prices.
- Regulatory and Legal Risks: Pi Network faces legal risks and regulatory uncertainties in some regions. For example, in some countries, the project has been identified by local police as suspected pyramid scheme. Participating in such projects may lead to investments not being protected by law and risks of real-name information leakage.
- Lack of Practical Applications: Although Pi Network has seen some offline payment scenarios in the Southeast Asian market, the maturity of its ecosystem and practical application scenarios remains to be verified.
Some exchanges have listed Pi Network [IOU] tokens, offering trading services, including HTX, MEXC, Bitget, BingX, Gate.io, Bybit, and CoinEx. These exchanges typically list Pi coin with "isolated listing" or similar markings, indicating that its value has not been fully validated by the market and is highly speculative. Given that Pi Network is still in the enclosed mainnet phase and the official does not recognize IOU token trading, investors must exercise extreme caution and fully understand and assess potential risks when participating in any related transactions.
