Co-founder Chengdiao Fan’s first public appearance fails to enthuse Pi crypto

"I hoped Chengdiao Fan’s appearance at the TOKEN2049 event in Singapore would hike the price," The Anh, a Pi Network investor for nearly four years in Quang Tri Province, said.

When he learned she would attend the event on Oct. 1-2, he decided to buy more.

"Even though Pi had been falling, I wanted to try my luck by spending US$1,000 on it," he said.

The Pi cryptocurrency has yet to recover after the Sept. 22 crash. Photo by VnExpress/Duy Phong

Fan co-founded Pi Network along with Nicolas Kokkalis and Vincent McPhillip in 2019.

Kokkalis led technology, Fan managed product development and McPhillip had handled the community before quitting in 2021 over disagreements.

Fan has never appeared publicly as a Pi Network co-founder, and her presence at an event with major crypto and blockchain organizations led many to expect a sharp rise in the crypto’s value, and the Pi community became more active.

According to an administrator of a Facebook fan page with 150,000 members, the number posts about her rose by over 300% from when she and Kokkalis attended another event in South Korea.

Many hoped her speech in Singapore, along with recent updates to Pi Network’s Stellar consensus protocol, would drive its price up.

At the Oct. 1 event she delivered a speech titled "From Liquidity to Utility: My Vision for Web3 Innovation at TOKEN2049."

She mentioned two main goals for Pi Network: tokenizing real-world assets and creating a global identity verification system for tens of millions of users, and building a new digital economy through the Pi community of over 60 million users.

But Pi’s price rose slightly, reaching $0.278 before falling to $0.263. During the previous crash it had dropped from $.035 to $0.18.

From its March peak of $3 Pi has shed 94% of its value.

Cryptocurrency news website 99Bitcoins pointed out that Pi’s price often falls when its founders address the public.

In May, after Kokkalis spoke at the Consensus 2025 event in Toronto, a sell-off saw it lose 42%. When he met the community in Seoul on Sept. 22 it fell by nearly 20%.

Cointribune said Pi Network’s price "reflects the fading excitement of an already controversial community" and predicted a "gloomy outlook" as low trading volume makes a price surge unlikely.

Cryptocurrency news outlet Beincrypto said: "Without any progress, Pi Network would be forgotten as long-term holders gradually leave."

Nguyen Ha Minh Thong, founder of HCMC-based venture fund Cabo Capital, said Pi’s low price and monthly declines indicate serious market distrust.

Low trading volume spells the end of the cryptocurrency as liquidity dries up, new investors stop coming, and the community loses patience, he said.

"A cryptocurrency cannot survive on the community alone if it lacks a product and real liquidity.

"Consider carefully before investing time, resources, or trust into something that is collapsing in both value and market sentiment."

Pi’s continuous release into the market limits its price growth. The number of tokens circulating increased from 6.9 billion in June to nearly 8.25 billion by Oct. 2.

It has been promoted as free cryptocurrency that can be earned by opening the app and checking in daily.

Vietnam has among the most Pi miners worldwide.

The project drew controversy for taking nearly six years to start a network and enable users to transfer Pi to other platforms.

But even after opening in February Pi Network is seen as an incomplete blockchain project without smart contracts or open-source code.