“Pi Network is more dangerous than meme coins.”
This was what Bybit CEO Ben Zhou boldly declared during an interview with Vietnamese newspaper VnExpress.
On February 2025, Zhou said that his crypto exchange would not list $PI because Pioneers, or enthusiasts of the Pi Network, are “aunties and uncles,” implying they have no knowledge about how crypto works.
“A lot of people ask us if we list Pi on Bybit. We don’t interact too much with this project but also do fundamental assessments of it like other cryptocurrencies.”
Ben Zhou, Chief Executive Officer, Bybit
Reason #1: Lack of Transparency
It should be noted that days after Pi Network transitioned to an open mainnet and $PI was listed on various exchanges, Bybit suffered on what was considered to be one of the largest crypto hacks in history, with over $1.46 billion stolen in an exploit linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Zhou stressed that this incident was partially mitigated because of Bybit’s transparency, emphasizing that transparency is crucial in the crypto industry.
He then highlighted that Pi Network lacks transparency, as its development team has never promoted their project at real-life events.
“The strange thing is that you don’t find the team behind the project. They talk about someone at Stanford, but you never meet them in real life and hear them talk about their project. I really hope that the founders or the management team will show up; maybe do a livestream so that people like me can understand it. But instead, they started attacking me and Bybit.”
Ben Zhou, Chief Executive Officer, Bybit
Reason #2: Delayed Schedules
The Bybit CEO further justified comparing Pi Network as more harmful than meme coins by questioning the blockchain’s missed roadmaps. Pioneers have been mining $PI for as long as six years.
“They advertise that just by clicking a button, they will get a lot of money back. But how to make money is not said. A lot of people don’t get anything, while there are occasional leaks.”
Ben Zhou, Chief Executive Officer, Bybit
Zhou highlighted that he views Pi Network’s mining campaign as a Ponzi scheme, as those who mined $PI earliest potentially benefit the most.
Reason #3: Targeting Inexperienced User
Zhou further explained why Pi Network is dangerous—it targets people who are not knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies.
“Meme coin players understand what it is and they are responsible for their decisions. But with Pi, the project attracts a lot of people but doesn’t tell them what’s going on.”
Ben Zhou, Chief Executive Officer, Bybit
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies based on internet memes. They are considered risky assets—or “destructive,” in Zhou’s words—because they have no practical use case, and their value depends solely on community hype.
This article is published on BitPinas: Bybit CEO Warns Pi Network is More Dangerous Than Meme Coins
What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond?
