Pi Network Slide Continues As Major Announcement Underwhelms Traders

Pi Network token continued to decline on Friday despite positive ecosystem developments.

This week’s Pi Network’s (Pi) much-anticipated announcement failed to meet expectations. As of Friday, May 16, the token was down 0.63% to $0.9062, marking a 44% decline from its recent multi-month high of $1.62. The volatility appears to be the result of hype that didn’t deliver.

On May 8, the Pi Foundation teased a “major announcement” to be revealed on May 14. The teaser triggered a sharp rally, with Pi surging over 200% in a matter of days to reach its highest level since March 2025. However, once the announcement was made, markets responded with disappointment.

The reveal turned out to be a Pi Network venture fund, that will invest $100 million in ecosystem startups. According to the Foundation, the goal is to accelerate real-world use cases on the chain and boost long-term value.

While the announcement may appear positive from a development standpoint, traders were clearly expecting more. Almost immediately after the news broke, the token dropped over 50%. Several factors explain the sharp pullback. First, the venture fund is a long-term initiative and does not provide any immediate utility or price support for the token. Second, the build-up to the announcement likely created unrealistic expectations.

This type of market reaction is often referred to as “buy the rumor, sell the news”, a common pattern where investors bid up a token in anticipation of bullish news, only to sell off once the announcement underwhelms.

For this reason, the Pi Network price correction is to be expected. Still, the good news for Pi is that the token is stabilizing around the levels it previously was, suggesting that volatility may be normalizing.