Is Pi Network the Next Cryptocurrency Revolution or Another Hype Train? Can You Really Cash Out? – CryptoNinjas

Key Takeaways:

• How do you sell Pi as users face multiple roadblocks?
• Pi cannot be accessed globally; thus, it cannot realize its value yet, making sales limited;
• So, tread carefully around projects with high upside and little work to be done when it comes to value uncertainty.

What Is Pi Network? Unveiling The Promise

Pi Network recently entered the crypto world in 2019 promising to be a cryptocurrency for all, one that could be mined instantly on your mobile. Forget costly mining rigs, all you needed was the Pi Network app and a daily tap of your phone to “mine” Pi. This “free mining” model quickly brought in millions of users, lured by the prospect of effortless crypto profits.

Yet years later, that central question still remains: Can users really sell the Pi they’ve so painstakingly mined? Listings on recent exchanges had people all excited, but does that really mean profit or just a nice form of marketing? Let’s dig deeper.

Why an Exchange Listing Doesn’t (and Shouldn’t) Add Value to Pi Network

Pi was listed on a number of exchanges in early 2025, including OKX, HTX (formerly known as Huobi), and BitMart. The Pi Network community rejoiced, feeling confident that they could cash out after years of “mining” — a process in which users download an app and press a button once a day.

Pi is listed on OKX exchange

But here’s the catch, and it’s a big one:

• The Pi on the exchange is probably not the same Pi that users have in the Pi Network app. It is important to understand this. It’s like having a coupon for a product that hasn’t hit shelves yet.
• Trading is typically restricted to certain accounts, preventing most users from moving Pi to the exchanges and selling it off. You can think of it almost like a sale that’s only open to VIPs — everyone can see, but only some can buy.
• Withdrawals and conversion into other assets are highly restricted, if permitted at all. And that means that even if you can trade, extracting your money can often be a bureaucratic disaster ramped up to 11.

This raises a fundamental question: Is the Pi token listed on exchanges the same as the Pi coin that millions of users are holding? If the Pi that exchanges are trading isn’t the same Pi as everyone else’s Pi, then what’s the point? Is it a mirage of value? A “Pi proxy,” as it were, that puts a market completely separate from the actual reality of user-held Pi, back into play on crypto…