Pi Network (PI) is currently trading in a tight range with concerningly low liquidity, creating a fragile market structure ahead of significant token unlocks.
A Fragile Start for Open Trading
Pi Network’s Open Mainnet launched on February 20, 2025, a milestone that enabled verified users to migrate their coins and allowed trading on several exchanges. However, the initial euphoria was short-lived. The token experienced extreme volatility, with its value falling sharply after an initial spike.
As of October 17, 2025, Pi is trading at approximately $0.20 to $0.22, aligning with the price range you noted. This represents a dramatic decline from its earlier highs. The trading volume is notably thin, and recent on-chain data points to a potential reduction in immediate selling pressure, with exchange outflows of 2.58 million PI tokens observed in a 24-hour period.
Structural Hurdles and Shallow Liquidity
Several key challenges are contributing to the current market fragility and preventing Pi from gaining broader traction.
A major limiting factor is its absence from top-tier centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. Current trading is primarily confined to platforms like OKX, which limits access for the wider institutional and retail market. Furthermore, the tokens currently traded are often IOUs (I-Owe-You promises) rather than the native coins, adding a layer of counterparty risk and uncertainty to price discovery.
Technically, the ecosystem is still in development. While a major Mainnet v23 update is planned to introduce smart contracts, a decentralized exchange (DEX), and DeFi functionalities, these features are not yet live. Until these core utilities are operational, the fundamental use cases for the PI token remain limited.
The Looming Threat of Token Unlocks
The most immediate and significant risk to Pi’s price stability comes from its tokenomics and upcoming supply unlocks.
The total supply of PI is capped at 100 billion tokens. A substantial portion of this supply is scheduled to be released into the market over the coming year. As you highlighted, the market is facing an unlock of 160 million PI in August, followed by a much larger release of 1.27 billion PI over the subsequent year.
Given the current low trading volume and shallow order books, this impending increase in circulating supply poses a severe risk. If even a small fraction of these newly unlocked tokens is sold on the market, the thin buy-side liquidity could be overwhelmed, likely causing the current price support levels to break.
In summary, Pi Network finds itself in a critical and precarious phase. While development continues with initiatives like its Metaverse and AI platforms, the combination of low liquidity, limited exchange support, and massive upcoming token unlocks creates a strong downward pressure on price. The market’s ability to absorb the August unlock will be the first major test of its resilience.
