On paper, Pi Network had everything to tell a simple story: a massive community, a mainstream promise, and an almost “anti-elite” narrative. Then the price stepped in, and it was brutal. Since its peak, the drop is approaching –90%, and the question is no longer “why is it going up,” but what actually broke underneath.
To summarize
- The peak was fragile despite listing euphoria.
- Unlocks are creating constant pressure on the market.
- And demand, for now, remains too weak to absorb the incoming supply.
An ATH that already looked like a stress test
The first point is the ATH itself.
Pi reached a high around $2.98 to $3.00 before falling far below that level.
And when the price moves from roughly $3.00 to $0.184, the drop actually exceeds –90%. It is closer to –94%, depending on the exact reference point.
That detail matters, because an ATH is not always a solid, well-built top.
Sometimes, it is just a liquidity spike, a moment where relatively few orders are enough to push the price higher, before the reality of the order book and sellers kicks back in.
In Pi’s case, the market quickly gave the impression of an asset still in transition.
Volumes exist, market cap is displayed, but the structure remains fragile, with uneven confidence and phases where the price deflates faster than it builds.
As a result, the ATH now looks like a stress test.
And clearly, the test did not hold.
Programmed inflation putting pressure on the price
Then there is a much more mechanical factor, and therefore often a more unforgiving one.
Supply.
The circulating supply sits around 8.38 billion PI, with a maximum supply announced at 100 billion.
So yes, the idea of a market being “detached” or “uncorrelated” can exist in narratives.
But in reality, when supply increases, the price needs new buyers, otherwise it slides.
And this is where unlocks become central.
A heavy January 2026 is expected, with around 134 to 139 million PI set to be released over the period. That creates ongoing selling pressure, especially if demand does not grow at the same pace.
Unlock tracking data also shows a visible daily flow, offering increasing clarity on the weeks ahead.
And this is where the drop “from the ATH” becomes easier to understand.
A market that continuously receives new tokens must constantly absorb them.
If the ecosystem does not generate organic demand on the other side, the trend naturally remains downward.
This is not about sentiment.
It is simply the arithmetic of supply.
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Demand still hasn’t found its engine
The last point is more intangible, but it shows clearly in the price.
An asset does not recover sustainably because it “deserves to.” It recovers when demand returns, and when that demand has a reason.
Part of the market is still waiting for concrete signals regarding the network’s maturity, its real openness, and the ability of the ecosystem to generate activity beyond speculation.
Pi is still perceived as being in a transition phase, with technical and structural milestones expected throughout 2026. That fuels anticipation, but also a persistent level of caution.
And this is also where the –90% can be explained on a human level.
When a market feels that the timeline is unclear, it becomes nervous. It loses patience. It sells into rebounds.
On the other hand, when an ecosystem proves real traction, real usage, real integrations, it often rebuilds a healthier dynamic over time, even if slowly.
For now, Pi seems stuck in this intermediate zone, where attention is there, but conviction has not yet rebuilt a strong enough foundation to absorb the incoming supply.
And at the core, that may be the real story.
The price does not just “punish” an asset.
It reflects an imbalance between what is available for sale and what the market is actually willing to buy, right now.
Case to follow on Cryptonomic.
