Pi Network price on edge ahead of a 139m unlock

Pi Network price has crashed for four consecutive months and hit a record low in September as investors remained on the sidelines.

Pi Coin (PI) fell to a record low around $0.186, down 95% from its all-time high. This crash brought its market capitalization to $2.1 billion, down from nearly $20 billion in February. One reason the Pi Network price has slumped since mainnet launch is that it has become one of the most inflationary cryptocurrencies in the industry.

Pi has a supply limit of 100 billion tokens and a circulating supply of 8.2 billion. This means over 91 billion tokens will be unlocked or mined over time.

According to PiScan, Pi Network will unlock 138 million coins, currently valued at over $35 million in October. It will then unlock 103 million tokens in November and 171 million in the following month. 

Token unlocks are typically bearish for a cryptocurrency because they increase the amount of tokens in circulation. An increase in supply when demand is limited tends to pressure an asset’s price.

Pi Network has also plunged for other reasons. For example, it has not achieved its goal of creating an active ecosystem where Pi Coin acts as the currency. While there are dApps in the ecosystem, none have gone mainstream.

Still, there is hope that the coin will rebound in the fourth quarter. The main reason for this is that one whale has accumulated millions of tokens in the past few weeks. While the identity is not known, there is speculation that this is an insider who knows that something like an exchange listing or a token burn announcement. 

Pi Network price technical analysis

The eight-hour chart shows that the Pi Coin price has been in a freefall in the past few months. It crashed to a low of $0.1856 in September as the crypto market plunged. 

Pi has moved below the lower line of the descending triangle pattern (shown in orange). It remains below the triangle and all moving averages.

Therefore, the coin will likely stay under pressure in October amid the token unlocks. However, there is a possibility of a short squeeze, particularly if a major announcement, such as an exchange listing, hits the tape.