In this article, we're going to review in a totally unbiased manner what Pi Network REALLY stands for, the timeline of Pi Network, the people behind the project, and if this project is really worth getting into.

Pi Network claims to be the First Digital Currency that can be mined from a regular phone, energy free. That's the very main purpose of the project. Ultimately, they aim to become the "go-to" platform where people can transact using the Pi coin on the Pi Network.

They claim to have a team of Stanford Ph.D. graduates with extensive valuable knowledge behind the project. They also boast about their app which can be downloaded on both GooglePlay and AppStore, with 10+million users to date.

After downloading the app, you'd have to link your number and Facebook account to your wallet. Every 24 hours, you can enter the app and claim your earned Pi coins effortlessly. You can also boost your earnings by going through the KYC process.

While researching and digging deeper into Pi Network, we couldn't but raise many red flags that usually are not good indicators of any project that is launching. In the following section, we're going to cite every concern and explain why they might be potential flimflam indicators:

It all starts when the user downloads the app (wallet), and the need to verify a phone number and link a Facebook account. You will never face such a process when using any other wallet (not to confuse with opening accounts with exchanges). They also have a KYC step that collects Passport information, which contradicts the development of things on their platform: why make people pass through KYC and submit critical information since there is NO exchange of Pi to USD or to anything else yet? There is NO regulatory body in the world that forces companies to have KYC measures when no money transfer is involved yet.

No other cryptocurrency to date obliges users to do so, in fact, it goes against the very main reason behind cryptocurrencies, which is privacy. Their App also has many permissions on your phone (below screenshots).

There is currently no visibility of any blockchain technology. In normal scenarios, companies would publish their code as open-source for validity, a process that has yet to happen. Their "Whitepaper" is just a business plan still at Draft 1, dated back since the company started in March 2019. HUGE red flag!

Everything is still a theory with no real code in place. The Sandbox on their website is very basic and not mature for a company that started almost 3 years today. There is no proof of work being performed, users just login and click a button, and earn more by referring others. It seems like Pi Network is just using crypto lingo like Mining, Wallet, blockchain...in order to fit into the cryptocurrency sphere.
Another infrastructure concern relies on how PIs are created. Let's move on to the next red flag, the no-energy-drain dilemma.

In chemistry, there is a famous saying that goes like this: "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed".
If you want to mine cryptocurrencies, which is basically creating new coins, something needs to push this creation, unless the creation is meaningless and useless. In this case, we notice that the only thing pushing the creation (since no energy is being drained) is the introduction of new people, the fact that makes mining meaningless, and just a push of a button every 24 hours, in a bid to mimic the real mining mechanism for cryptocurrencies.

Why keep users coming back every day? Well, an active user who recruits others and logs into the app daily is much more valuable than a passive offline user, who only downloaded the app ages ago and forgot about it. The latter can't be monetized as much as fresh info on active users. It also helps create a sense of hype, which is also, a red flag.

Most users who are sharing their referral links seem to be cryptocurrency newbies, who don't understand how real mining works or what cryptocurrencies are really about. They just heard from the media that Bitcoin made money for early adopters, and hope to become millionaires from Pi. Also, here's a list of the countries where Pi Network is famous:

• Bhutan
• Nepal
• Vietnam
• Nigeria
• Romania
• Iran
• Lebanon
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Pakistan
• Malaysia

We are always at ease when we know that "professionals" are handling a certain project. But what's been happening with Pi Network is that people are jumping on board solely because of the founders' credentials. Is that enough? Well, it sounds too familiar.
OneCoin, a previous cryptocurrency project was hyped as well by pushing the main person behind it who was also a PhD person in Business and Economics, "Dr. Ruja Ignatova". The company was later shut down for running a Ponzi Scheme.
Successful companies tend to speak about their business success rather than shove their founders' academic credentials in every pitch.

On both app stores, the app boasts many 5-star reviews, which only talks about how the app "doesn't drain battery". Well, we already discussed how this is bad news as it shows that the app isn't doing anything. If you go and read positive articles, you will definitely end up with a referral link.
All positive reviews are ending in a similar way: "Well you can't lose anything, why not try it...use my referral code."

The company launched in 2019, and to date, there aren't any concrete developments in the making other than the below:

• A simple website
• A simple app
• Users referring each other

Heck, even their own users admit that the timeline plan is reaching a certain number of users:

In this case, the only real value of the company is its significant user base, which is being definitely monetized by the creators. It is not uncommon for MLM schemes to grow fast in numbers, which is not a bad thing, but it gets riskier knowing that an already shady project is using MLM for fast growth.

If you're not paying for the product, then you ARE the product. In this day of age, Data is very important and can be sold for hefty returns. Remember the old Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal where certain apps were designed on the Facebook platform to gain user information? Well, this presents a similar case where owners can monetize their user base significantly, having access to much-segregated information.

It has been discussed also that at the very start, users were exposed to video ads to help monetize their active user base:

Founders are already benefitting from the app. They launched optional video ads at launch to monetize the active user base. The app also has a KYC process of collecting passport information. Binding this to mobile IDs can be valuable information for the founders

Pi Network is far from becoming the next Bitcoin. When Bitcoin was first launched, its code was publicly available showcasing how exactly the blockchain is doing the work. Mining was a logical process, and it never required people to recruit each other. Pi Network's only positive is that it boasts a large active user base, which is definitely benefiting the creators. When further updates happen, we'll definitely publish another article and talk about market developments.

Stay Ahead, Stay Updated
Rudy Fares

A 200% to 300% increase in any portfolio makes you jump at the top of your seat. Likewise, a 100% devaluation would take away all your belongings. Wondering which market it is? We are talking about the crypto market where investment is a roller-coaster ride. I hope the Squid Game event stays fresh in memory. While the market favored tokens in the metaverse, there is a handful that choked badly. In this article, we shall look at a few worst crypto performers of 2021. Also, we will see whether they can make a comeback in 2022.

Squid Game token is the perfect example of a reckless investment. This token shot to fame post its launch. On October 27, 2021, the coin traded at $0.04 and experienced a sharp surge in prices in a few days. On October 31, 2021, it was trading at $35. At that point, the founders cashed out leading to a rug-pul. Within moments, the token zeroed and founders/developers made $3.7 million. To this day, this scam haunts all those who wanted to get rich overnight. 

It is not always the founders or developers to blame, sometimes protocols are prone to hacks. That's what had happened with Bogged finance. Bog entered the crypto-verse with a wonderful use-case. The project aimed to bring centralized finance tools to the DeFi space. Though it started off well, the token followed a bearish pattern later. It continued its downward ascend from $22.54 on May 12 to $9.26 on May 21. This wasn't all since it further fell to zero down post an attack. An attacker drained $3 million in liquidity from the Bog protocol. As a result, the ecosystem took damage control steps by burning 7.5 million Bog tokens to restore its value. 

Pancake Bunny, another token in the infamous list tricked by the flash loan scam. The token price dropped from $545.82 to $3.12. The scam took shape in the form of a hacker using large amounts of BNBs to rig the market. The hacker first took a large sum in loans and used the same to mint Bunny tokens. Later on, the market crashed due to a large amount of off-loading. The prices crashed from $238 to $25 in a few hours. However, unlike all other scams, Pancake Bunny returned $18 million to investors. Thus igniting hope that despite the absence of regulations, DeFi still has potential.

bEarn is another unlucky mention on this list. This token didn't experience price manipulation but a vault attack. Attackers used flash loans from Cream Finance of $7.8 million. The amount was deposited and withdrawn 30 times from the bEarn vault. As a result, the coin dipped from $955.99 to $16 post an $11 million loss in stablecoins. 

Ekta brought a wonderful use-case of bridging the physical and real world. However, having witnessed an unprecedented rise to $10.41 in August, the token fell to $0.15 in October. The protocol got hacked by individuals from its own team. 

Apart from Ekta and Bogged Finance, there isn't much news from other tokens that they will return. Pancake Bunny future price predictions show a zero return on investment. Whereas, Bogged Finance could make a comeback and trade at $1.22 as per experts. 2022 will be an interesting year to see how these tokens make a comeback and restore public trust. 

The biggest HYPE in cryptocurrencies happened and ended badly. Rug-pulls are becoming very common lately, and are costing people hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The Squid Token crash is one of those stories and should be a learning lesson for all cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In this article, we're going to see what this project was all about, and see how the people behind the project managed to pull the rug on their investors.

The Squid token surfaced recently after the successful Netflix show "The Squid Game". The show is a South Korean survival drama television series on Netflix. It portrays how hundreds of contestants accept an invitation to compete in deadly games for a tempting prize. The show was an instant success, with more than 87 million viewers finishing the first series.

The Squid Token simply took the theme of the Squid Game, to benefit from the massive fame of the show. They promised to launch an online game based on the Squid Game, where users will have to deal with the Squid Tokens for entry to the ecosystem.

The entire project was set to fail from day one. If there's one thing that professional traders and investors know, is that to always do your research and plan your risk. For the Squid Token's case, the entire thing was perfectly executed to be the quickest rug-pull.

They first created a nice website to suit the main theme of the show. Second, they shilled the project on social media. Since The Squid Game show was already a hit sensation, it wasn't difficult to attract many investors in the early stages. In order to acquire those Squid Tokens, users should've staked big cryptos such as ETH, BTC, USDT, then get the MARBLE token. The latter can be swapped for SQUID for a ratio of 3:1 in the beginning.

This ratio started to increase and reached 15:1, so users needed more cryptos to stake. Because of all the staking that was happening, no one was able to sell, so the price kept on increasing. Coupled with a massive shilling, the price soared from a few cents to USD 2,800. What most people missed in the contract code, is that only the creator was able to sell, without having to own MARBLES even. When you have such lines of code, run away. The creators then closed the website and the social media channels and ran away with Millions in stolen profits.