The native token of Pi Network, PI, has plunged to a fresh all-time low of $0.132, marking a catastrophic 95.6% decline from its price of nearly $3 less than a year ago. The token's collapse is part of a broader market correction but is significantly exacerbated by an impending wave of token unlocks that threatens to flood the market with new supply.
On-chain data from PiScan reveals a critical schedule of token releases set for the coming days. February 13th is slated to see a record 23.6 million PI tokens unlocked, followed by 18.9 million on February 12th and 16.9 million on February 14th. In total, over 205 million tokens worth more than $27 million are scheduled to be unlocked before the end of February, with an additional 1.3 billion tokens set to be released over the next 12 months.
Analysts warn that these unlocks, which make tokens freely tradable, will likely intensify selling pressure. This concern is amplified by weak demand, as evidenced by a 24-hour trading volume of just over $11 million, and a generally negative market sentiment fueled by criticism of the Pi Network project and team. The situation may worsen in March when the distribution of KYC validator rewards begins, potentially leading to further sell-offs.
The broader crypto market decline, which saw total capitalization drop over 2.3% to $2.2 trillion, was partly triggered by a strong U.S. jobs report. The addition of 130,000 jobs in January, nearly double expectations, has reduced the likelihood of imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, applying macroeconomic pressure on risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Technically, PI has broken below the key support level of $0.1537, invalidating a potential double-bottom bullish reversal pattern. The token is trading at the lower Bollinger Band with the Average Directional Index (ADX) at 70, indicating a strong and accelerating downtrend. The next major support level is seen at $0.100.
