Pi Network’s price crashed on Thursday, and the selling pressure continued on Friday as the much-anticipated mainnet launch disappointed investors.
After an initial surge following its mainnet launch, the Pi coin (PI) price plunged by over 50%, wiping out nearly $6 billion in market value. According to CoinMarketCap, the coin’s market capitalization initially stood at $10 billion before dropping to $4.1 billion.
The Pi Network price crash was in line with our earlier analysis. We cited the increased selling by pioneers and the fact that most recent airdrops like Hamster Kombat and Wormhole have crashed.
Top Pi Network rivals to consider
Some of the top Pi Network rivals or alternatives to consider are Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), Polkadot (DOT), and Chainlink (LINK).
Bitcoin
Pi Network was designed as a potential alternative to Bitcoin, offering smart contract capabilities and an ecosystem of dApps. However, Bitcoin has historically been one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies, rising from below $1 in 2009 to $109,200 this year.
Bitcoin has strong fundamentals. Its ETFs are seeing strong inflows, while Bitcoin exchange balances are falling. Also, as we wrote recently, it has formed a cup and handle pattern and a bullish flag that may push it higher over time.
Binance Coin
BNB is another Pi Network rival worth considering due to its strong fundamentals and technical indicators. Its ecosystem is expanding, supported by dApps such as PancakeSwap and Thena. Just recently, the volume handled in its DEX networks flipped Ethereum and Solana.
It is also highly deflationary, as the network burns BNB tokens worth over $1 billion each quarter. The BNB price has also formed a cup-and-handle pattern that may push it above $1,000 in the near term.
Chainlink
Chainlink is another leading alternative to Pi Network due to its strong market position. As the largest oracle network in the crypto industry, it provides essential services to major platforms like AAVE and Compound.
Chainlink is also a big player in the Real World Asset tokenization industry through its Cross Chain Interoperability Protocol. CCIP is a protocol that facilitates communication and asset transfers across various blockchains.
The project has secured partnerships with major institutions, including Swift, UBS, ANZ, World Liberty Financial, and Coinbase. Additionally, there is growing speculation that the SEC may approve a spot LINK ETF later this year.
Polkadot
Polkadot is a more contrarian Pi coin rival because its price has crashed recently. Its main catalyst is the ongoing transition to Polkadot 2.0, which will introduce features friendly to developers. With Polkadot 2.0, one will not need to go through the prolonged and expensive parachain auction to build on the blockchain.
From a technical perspective, Polkadot has formed a quadruple-bottom pattern, a well-known bullish indicator. It is also in the accumulation phase of the Wyckoff Theory, which typically precedes a markup phase. This could drive its price to the 50% retracement level at $30, representing a 500% increase from current levels.
