The bottom line of the openly launched pyramid scheme project Web3 has been infinitely broken

Author: Yangz, Techub News

Earlier today, the news that OKX will launch PI caused an uproar in the industry. Regarding the launch of the "project" that was nailed down as a pyramid scheme, Techub News contacted OKX public relations, but the other party refused to comment. At the same time, Bitget also followed OKX's footsteps and announced that it would launch PI.

Speaking of PI (Pi Coin or π Coin), I believe that people in the industry know that it is a typical pyramid scheme project that specializes in "harvesting" the middle-aged and elderly groups. The project claims to be launched by a Stanford University doctoral student, and teaches and preaches to the elderly in the name of "public welfare", claiming that you only need to download the APP on your mobile phone and operate it simply to mine for free.

According to a report by Blue Whale Finance last year, the so-called "mining" only requires lighting up the lightning icon on the homepage of the "π coin" application every 24 hours. Once the operation is completed, the π coins will gradually increase. There is no technical content and no capital investment required. Coupled with the MLM rhetoric of "using π to buy cars and houses" that has been bombarded in the community, many middle-aged and elderly people have been deceived into the game over the years.

Although the police in cities such as Wuxi have repeatedly warned against such pyramid schemes, saying that criminals use the gimmicks of "free" and "gifts" to attract people who are greedy for small profits to download software, and then give victims a small amount of "π coins" with low operating thresholds and no capital investment, and use rewards to expand the victim group and defraud victims of their money, but the middle-aged and elderly people who lack judgment find it difficult to realize that behind the ever-increasing number of π coins, there is no withdrawal channel at all. The so-called quotation from the own mall that 100 π coins can be exchanged for a Rolls-Royce is just a scam.

However, today, OKX announced that it will launch the Pi Network token PI spot trading on February 20, which has completely shocked the entire industry. Compared with the Pi community, which must be full of gongs and drums at this moment, for this magical news, the currency circle is mostly "silent", except for the self-deprecation and jokes from young investors who "want to make friends with grandpa and aunt". Many investors said they couldn't understand it and lamented that "the crypto market has changed."

On the one hand, the currency circle despises the Pi community, and on the other hand, Pi seems to dislike the currency circle. @0xJaleel_eth shared, "Two worlds, no one looks down on each other." He said that the current Picoin community even looks down on OKX and is not interested in listing on the exchange because they have their own barter market. In addition, @0xJaleel_eth shared some information about the current Picoin community. He said, "There are very few Pi coins in circulation, so KYC requires a long wait. Secondly, most accounts that have passed KYC are waiting to be "mapped to the main network." In a group of 500 people, only one ordinary person with a relatively small number of coins has successfully "mapped to the main network." Only by mapping to the main network can the coins be transferred out. The mapping rules are very black-box operations." Wu said that the founder of the blockchain also suggested on X not to report on situations related to Pi. He said, "MLM-related industrial chains are all targets of severe crackdowns. Everyone should have some legal common sense. The fact that it has never happened does not mean that you are lucky. Once it happens, it is a disaster for the whole family." From Trump issuing TRUMP before his official inauguration to the suspected imitation of the President of the Central African Republic issuing CAR a few days ago, the current currency circle has dumbfounded many "old leeks" and even made them think of "quitting the circle." In the previous cryptocurrency world, there were DeFi and NFTs. Now, in addition to the Bitcoin ecosystem and AI proxy narratives that have already shown signs of decline, all we can see is Memecoin, which has suddenly risen and may be cut in half (according to a report by Merkle Science, a cryptocurrency intelligence platform, cryptocurrency investors lost more than $500 million in the Memecoin scam in 2024).

Many people believe that Memecoin represents the rebellion of retail investors against the traditional VC model. Through Memecoin, ordinary investors are no longer passive receivers, but can unite to promote collective action and form new market rules. However, if this concept is used by bad people, the spirit of decentralization, which was originally a tool for ordinary investors to resist traditional financial monopolies, may eventually be distorted.

When everyone shouted to pay attention to the "attention economy" such as Memecoin, and the listing of coins on exchanges became the focus of public opinion, it also exposed the problem of the current market's lack of practical applications and new capital inflows. As @tmel0211 pointed out, "TRUMP's mess sucked away a lot of liquidity in the industry, and PI coins took away the industry's only remaining moral "superiority". The once proud dream of decentralization, transparency, and breaking the traditional financial structure may no longer be adhered to by many people.

Amidst the shock, there are of course some different voices. Some X users said that although the nature of the project itself is questionable, it has undoubtedly brought users, just like the early Bitcoin, if it had not been "the persistence of pyramid schemes", it seems that it would not have reached this point today. The author believes that "bringing users" is not a justifiable reason for its existence. The head exchanges with huge influence in the industry support obvious "pyramid schemes" and should be resolutely resisted. The development of Web3 requires the most basic bottom line. It is a fact that the development of the industry itself lacks a sense of direction, but please remember that "God's will can be violated, but self-inflicted will not survive."