Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou has publicly accused Pi Network of being a scam, citing a 2023 Chinese police report that warned against fraudulent schemes allegedly associated with the project.
Zhou made these claims in a post on X in response to a recent post by an unofficial Pi Network technical team account, which claimed that the cryptocurrency exchange had been “rejected by Pi” for a listing.
The controversy began when the unofficial Pi Network technical X account suggested that Bybit had failed to meet certain Know Your Business (KYB) requirements set by Pi, implying that the project had turned down Bybit’s request for a listing. However, Zhou swiftly denied these allegations, calling them “completely nonsense.”
“Bybit had made no listing request to $PI and the claim that $PI refused bybit listing or Bybit did not pass some sort of KYB of $PI is completely non sense,”
Zhou stated in the X post.
In his rebuttal, Zhou referenced a police notice issued by the Wuxi Public Security Bureau in China in 2023, which warned citizens about fraudulent activities linked to Pi Network. The report described the scheme as targeting vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly, with promises of quick wealth through mobile cryptocurrency mining.
According to the police notice, scammers claiming to be affiliated with Pi Network encouraged people to download the app, offering them free Pi tokens as incentives. These actors reportedly lured victims with “get rich overnight” promises and expanded their network by rewarding users for recruiting others. The notice further alleged that scammers were reselling users’ personal information and defrauding victims of their money.
Following these allegations, Zhou reaffirmed that Bybit has no plans to list Pi Network in the foreseeable future.
This position stands in contrast to other major exchanges, such as OKX and Bitget, which have moved forward with Pi Network listings. Binance has shown some interest, recently holding a community vote to gauge public sentiment on whether it should list Pi Network.
In an X post shared ahead of its anticipated mainnet launch, Pi Network warned users about emerging scams and bad actors impersonating the project. The official Pi Network account denied any involvement in fraudulent activities and distanced itself from individuals or groups claiming false affiliations.
Pi Network also clarified that any schemes requiring users to pay fees, promising monetary rewards, or using multi-level marketing (MLM) tactics are unauthorized and not associated with the platform. It urged users to verify information through its official website to safeguard their accounts and wallets.
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