Millions of Pi Network users could soon lose their accumulated digital assets as a crucial verification deadline approaches amid widespread complaints about the platform's Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
The cryptocurrency project announced in late February that users who fail to complete KYC verification and migrate their balances to the Mainnet by 8:00 AM UTC on March 14, 2025 — symbolically coinciding with Pi Day — "risk losing most of their mobile balance." This deadline marks the end of an extended grace period implemented by the network.
"The end of the Grace Period is inevitable to make sure the network can move on in its new phase without large sums of unverified and unclaimed mobile balances," the announcement stated. "Thus, this is the last chance for any Pioneer to complete the required steps to avoid forfeiting their past mobile balances."
The announcement has ignited frustration among users, called Pioneers, many of whom claim they've repeatedly attempted but failed to complete the verification process. Rod Thompson, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, described the situation on social media platform X as "the biggest con job of crypto" with substantial personal stakes.
"The Pi Network has been earning ad revenue for every one of my daily mining sessions, but I'm going to lose over 10,000 pi coins because people I haven't spoken to in two years haven't done KYC," Thompson wrote. "At least one of them passed away over a year ago. That's over $10,000 due to me for my efforts."
Thompson is not alone in questioning the system's fairness. User S.O.H. characterized the situation as "mass social engineering on blockchain," while Ahmady Ala reported being unable to complete verification despite mining Pi for six years. Other users claim their verification documents have been pending for over two years without resolution.
"My KYC verification has been pending for 2.5 years. Even if it won't be approved, shouldn't there be an option to reapply?" user H. Ibrahim asked publicly.
Beyond verification issues, users report inconsistencies in balance calculations and alleged unfair distribution of rewards. "I mined consistently for 4 years, stayed loyal to Pi Network, brought in 39 people, and even completed KYC for 17 of them—yet I got nothing," stated user Mango Fan Token. "Meanwhile, others with no referrals and irregular mining have more Pi than me."
The disparity between claimed and verifiable user numbers has also raised concerns. While Pi Network claims approximately 60 million users, on-chain data shows only about 11 million active accounts. Critics additionally point to centralization issues that they say undermine the network's purported decentralized nature.
Many verified users report difficulties migrating their assets to Mainnet even after completing all required steps. Some frustrated Pioneers have resorted to selling their accounts on unofficial markets, raising further questions about the platform's long-term viability.
Despite mounting criticism, Pi Coin has recently experienced significant price appreciation, with CoinGecko reporting a value of $1.71 and approximately 15% gains in a 24-hour period ahead of Pi Day. Whether this price momentum can be sustained amid technical challenges and community dissatisfaction remains uncertain.