Pi Coin Tanks 33% As Pi Network Community Feels Betrayed

Pi Coin price tanked 33% within hours after Pi Network announces a $100 million VC fund, sparking backlash from the Pioneer community over the lack of functional decentralized applications (DApps). Having reached a high of $1.50 earlier this week, the cryptocurrency has now dropped 45%, erasing most of its weekly gains.

Why Is Pi Coin Crashing Today Despite $100M VC Fund?

On Wednesday, the Pi Core team announced the launch of $100 million VC Fund – Pi Network Ventures – to fund projects and startups to build decentralized applications (DApps) on the platform. However, the Pioneer community believes that the Pi Core team has betrayed them with no functioning DApps on the platform so far. Dr Altcoin, a popular voice within the Pi Community, writes:

“Today the Pi Core Team announcement about Pi Network Ventures is nothing short of a betrayal to the Pioneer community, the very people who built this project from the ground up over the past six years. We waited, we believed, and we contributed under the promise that time was needed to develop a strong ecosystem with 100 real, functioning DApps. Now, after six long years, we are told that the DApps the Core Team envisions still do not exist “.

Is Pi Network Team Neglecting Core Community?

Dr Altcoin has also accused the Pi Core team of neglecting the core community members and undervaluing their contribution. According to Dr. Altcoin, more than 94% of Pioneers, who helped build and sustain the network, failed to acquire 1,000 Pi tokens due to the Core Team’s refusal to adequately reward referral bonuses.

“This is not just unfair; it’s a clear sign that the community’s efforts have been undervalued,” Dr. Altcoin remarked. The Pioneer community comprises 70 million strong members across 200 countries. Dr. Altcoin stated that Pi Network’s lofty global ambitions have come at the cost of compromising the community.

“The silence from the Pi Core Team on protecting the interests of its community is deafening. Pioneers are not just users — we are the stakeholders, the foundation, and the reason Pi Network exists,” Dr. Altcoin emphasized.

Amid the current developments, crypto exchange Binance has also teased Pi, stating that their developers have zero design sense. Maybe the exchange is hinting at no possible listing of the Pi Coin in the near future.

This is what happens when devs touch art with 0 design sense. pic.twitter.com/8kzFW8KcEM

— Binance (@binance) May 15, 2025

Pi Coin Slips Out Of Top 20 Crypto List

Amid the massive rally to $1.5 earlier this week, Pi Coin’s market cap soared to $11.12 billion, overtaking Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. However, the hype around the announcement has faded quickly as the altcoin has lost nearly $5 billion in valuation in just the last three days.

Pi Network price is trading 32% down today $0.8881, with daily trading volumes shooting 35% to $951 million. Another reason behind Pi Coin dip today is the 5.2 million unlock, and thus, traders are expecting some volatility before it recovers past $1 once again.

This shows that the recent hype by the Pi Core team has quickly faded with trust among Pioneers shaking. It will be interesting to see any quick development in Pi Network ventures, and the kind of projects it supports.