The Pi Network Listing Saga Continues

Over the last week or so, I've been following with interest the handful of announcements that the longtime phone mobile app, Pi, would finally be listed on an exchange. The news first caught my attention on Torum (the crypto-centric social media platform) when an announcement from Huobi started circulating. But then things started getting weird.

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What is Pi?

Pi's website describes it as the "first cryptocurrency you can mine on your phone," and it has indeed been around for a few years - since 2019 in fact. The project was founded by several Stamford PhD graduates, and has garnered it's fair share of both supporters and critics over the years.

So Pi's Tradeable Now, Eh?

Well, that's what's weird about this situation. Pi is currently still in the midst of launching its Mainnet, so I was surprised to see the Huobi announcement come out right around the same time that Pi put out their own end-of-year report - one that didn't mention anything about Pi being listed/tradeable.

Timeline of Pi Network's "Listings"

Over the last few days, things have really escalated. XT.com announced on December 28th that they'd be listing Pi on the 29th. Huobi released another statement on December 29th that they'd be listing Pi that very same day as well. Then on January 2nd, news hit that Wrapped Pi had been launched to serve as a bridge between the Pi Network and the BNB Chain.

Additionally, when I checked Pi's listing on CoinGecko today, I saw yet another exchange had been listed - this time, from Bitmart. Sure enough, Bitmart had also made an announcement on December 30th that trading of Pi would begin the next day. Pretty exciting, huh?

Well, not really. On December 30th, the Pi Network issued a statement on Twitter and dashed our hopes - these exchange listings are NOT authorized as Pi is still in the enclosed Mainnet period:

Pi Network's full statement can be found on their website, with special emphasis on the terms of service to remind "Pioneers" (Pi miners) that any unauthorized trading is grounds for banning users from the project.

The Big Question: Why Did This Happen?

The big question that remains for me is simple: why in the world did these exchanges all decide within days of each other to proceed with listing Pi when no official launch had been announced? Is there some sort of leak in the Pi camp that had indicated exchange listings were in fact closer than we had thought? It seems like way too much of a coincidence that several exchanges - regardless of reputation - would all decide to launch the same unauthorized token in such a short time span.

Pi Network mentioned in their press release that they're asking these exchanges to take down their listings, but at the time of writing this article so far none of the listings I've seen have been removed. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. In the meantime, I have to admit I'm enjoying looking at the inflated value of my CoinGecko portfolio listing...while it lasts.

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Valdyr is a "crypto-curious" blogger living in Texas with her husband and their ancient dachshund, Henry. When she's not working as an audio/visual technician or stagehand, you'll frequently find her traveling, hiking or enjoying a good craft beer. For more reading, check out www.laurahofford.com/blog/