Pseudonymous crypto analyst Dr. Altcoin recently issued a warning about the potential for sharp price volatility in Pi Network. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he highlighted signs of mass account creation on the Banxa trading platform, which could negatively impact the coin’s price stability.
According to his analysis, numerous new accounts are being created on Banxa, each funded with the same amount: 0.98 Pi — approximately $0.61. Dr. Altcoin suspects this may be part of a broader price manipulation strategy.
“Banxa is seeing the creation of many new accounts, each holding 0.98 Pi,” he said. “This could lead to significant price volatility.”
A Sophisticated Strategy with Potential Risks
While the entity behind this synchronized account creation remains unidentified, Dr. Altcoin believes it may be an attempt to execute tactics like wash trading — creating fake market activity through artificial buy-sell actions. Moreover, if a large volume of Pi is sold simultaneously from these small wallets, it could trigger false selling pressure and crash the price.
Maintaining wallet balances below 1 Pi may be a deliberate strategy to bypass trading platform rules and avoid detection.
Earlier this April, Banxa officially launched support for Pi Network, enabling users to buy, sell, and store Pi coins. Since then, more than 1.2 million Pi purchases have been made through the platform.
Whales Accumulate as Micro Accounts Multiply
While small accounts are buying tiny amounts of Pi, large investors — or “whales” — appear to be accumulating significant holdings. In less than 48 hours, the amount of Pi held on exchanges dropped from 365 million to 359 million, signaling a withdrawal of 6 million Pi, which could indicate heavy buying by whales.
It remains unclear whether the surge in whale activity is connected to the creation of new micro accounts on Banxa. However, if the two trends are linked, it could point to a classic “pump and dump” scheme to manipulate Pi’s price.
The whale accumulation coincides with the unlocking of 10 million Pi coins, with a total of 213 million expected to be unlocked in April alone.
Short-Term Outlook: Could Pi Surge Again?
Currently, Pi Network is trading at around $0.60 and shows no dramatic price fluctuations. However, market momentum appears to be building, with optimism that Pi could soon retest the $1 mark.
Some optimistic forecasts suggest that if major banks begin adopting Pi through integration with Chainlink, the price could spike to $3 in the short term — and possibly soar to as high as $30 if widely adopted.
