Bybit CEO Ben Zhou slams Pi network as scam, cites Chinese authorities’ warning

Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, and the controversial blockchain project Pi Network have reignited their feud. 

On X, Zhou posted that Bybit will not be supporting Pi Network, citing fraud as his reason. He also shared an official police warning of $Pi from Chinese police dated back in 2023.

Pi Network’s mainnet launch overshadowed by Bybit CEO’s harsh criticism

On Thursday morning, the Pi coin was officially listed on several exchanges, including OKX, Gate.io, Bitget, and more.

Amid the otherwise successful launch of the Pi Network mainnet, pioneers received dampening news from Bybit CEO Ben Zhou.

The network’s mainnet initially experienced several delays and rescheduling. While fans of the Pi network celebrated the successful listing of the Pi coin on several exchanges, the exuberance was short-lived as Bybit CEO Ben criticized the project and its cryptocurrency.

The police warning article said older people had been deceived into mining Pi coin with the prospect of rewards, like cars and luxury gifts, but hadn’t delivered anything. Some victims provided real identification details to cash their winnings but didn’t get anything in return.

Zhou noted that the Pi Network had devastating effects on its victims, some of whom lost pension funds and personal data because of the project.

His comments were prompted by an anonymous post on X claiming that Bybit’s decision not to list Pi coin stemmed from personal bias, claiming that Pi Network developers had rejected the exchange. 

“Bybit had made no listing request to $PI, and the claim that $PI was refused by Bybit or failed its KYB is complete nonsense,” Zhou wrote. He further challenged the Pi Network to address these concerns transparently instead of making “childish attacks.”

Pi Network’s soaring debut fizzles as scam allegations and price crash cloud optimism

The Pi Network continues to face allegations of being a scam despite its price reaching an all-time high of about $330 million after launching its long-awaited mainnet on February 20.

When launched, the token’s price soared to $1.99 — a remarkable 36% jump. However, enthusiasm soon faded, and the token’s value crashed by 55% in the following hours, falling to a low of $0.9123.

The comments by Zhou have stirred up a mixed bag of reactions within the crypto community. An anonymous user on X wasn’t very pleased with the Pi Network team after accidentally sending some tokens to the wrong wallet address.

The user said they had attempted to contact support many times with no response and that the project has no customer support or operational integrity.

Others have lauded Zhou’s move to oppose Pi Network. Others praised Bybit for its extensive due diligence process and for refusing to list a token that raised a litany of red flags. A comment by one user highlighted that crypto exchanges should be more scrutinizing when allowing projects on their platform and have a job to protect investors from major scams.

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