Pi Network Supporters Protest Lack of Listing

After Pi Network supporters voiced their displeasure over the exchange’s failure to list Pi coins. Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, received a barrage of one-star reviews on Google Play and the Apple App Store. A post in a Pi Network Facebook group with over 135,000 members asked users to “rate Binance one star for disrespecting the Pi Network project.” Similar calls went viral on Facebook and X, with many users claiming to have followed through and a minority opposing the move.

To determine interest in listing Pi, Binance polled users using its Binance Square Official account. Although the listing was endorsed by more than 85% of respondents, Binance stressed that the poll results were “for reference only and do not determine any decision or action Binance may or may not take.” It reads, “These results are not final.”

The majority of people preferred listing Pi but offered no commitment, according to an update of the findings released by Binance on March 1. Its listing procedure, according to the exchange, entails thorough due diligence, with an impartial team assessing factors including the project’s quality and team, technical innovation and roadmap, market demand and community involvement, use cases and real-world applications, and security and compliance.  

According to Hoang Anh, who has been involved in the project since 2020 and is the moderator of a Pi Network Facebook page with over 150,000 members, many “Pi enthusiasts” could have thought Binance would follow the vote results. Because of this misinterpretation, people who had created accounts, finished identity verification, and paid at least $5 to participate became frustrated. “Feeling deceived, the only means for them to voice their frustration was through one-star ratings on Binance’s app,” he said.

Memes like Pi usually see a spike in value when they are listed on major exchanges, according to a crypto investor since 2019. “Those pushing for one-star ratings may have already purchased Pi from smaller exchanges or other users, using this moment to pressure Binance,” he says.

With 2.86 million reviews, Binance’s Google Play rating fell from 4.9/5 to 3.8/5, and its App Store rating fell from 4.8/5 to 4.2/5, with about 12,400 ratings. Numerous one-star reviews accuse Binance of “disrespecting the Pi Network project,” “tricking users into putting money to vote for Pi,” and “exploiting Pi supporters’ trust.”

The Pi Network team maintains control of Pi’s mainnet nodes, in contrast to other cryptocurrencies. “Contrary to its claims of decentralisation, the Pi core team controls all active mainnet nodes,” a blockchain specialist told CoinTelegraph. “While the project promises eventual decentralisation out there, its present configuration raises doubts about its commitment to this principle.”

Within a year of its founding in 2017, Binance has grown to become the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally. With roughly 13.6 million weekly visits, its daily trade volume is close to US$22 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

When Pi Network first launched in 2019, it advertised that customers could mine Pi for free every day by just touching a button on its mobile app. One of the nations with the greatest  number of pi miners is Vietnam. After over six years of development, the project’s mainnet was ultimately launched on February 20th, enabling users to move Pi to exchanges for trade.