Arkham Intelligence detected a massive Bitcoin transaction from Nucleus Marketplace, a dark web drug market that has been totally inactive for nine years. Nucleus moved $77.5 million to three wallets, leaving $365 million behind.
So-called “ancient” Bitcoin whales pop up in the space periodically, but an extant darknet vendor is still quite rare. Nucleus’ assets have appreciated in value astronomically, but it will be very difficult to convert this BTC into fiat currency.
Dark Web Bitcoin Whale Wakes Up
If there’s one constant in the crypto space and finance more broadly, it’s that money never sleeps. Earlier today, on-chain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence discovered rapid action from a long-dormant source.
Nucleus Marketplace, a darknet market with zero activity in the last nine years, woke up to move over $77.5 million worth of Bitcoin.
“Nucleus Marketplace was a darknet drug market, and it was believed that the founder had either been apprehended by law enforcement or had exit-scammed when the market went offline in 2016. The BTC held in their wallets has not been moved until today,” Arkham claimed.
This defunct darknet market didn’t immediately move all its Bitcoin, and Nucleus still retains about $365 million in BTC. The price of Bitcoin has shot up astronomically since the company’s heyday; at no point in 2016 did BTC cross the $1,000 price point.
Whoever controls this wallet is acting somewhat conservatively, moving these assets into three separate wallets.
Darknet market transactions are somewhat less common, although a few remain at large despite major legal crackdowns.
As novel as this darknet wallet may be in 2025, it doesn’t seem too likely to have much of an impact on Bitcoin. At the moment, it’s impossible to tell who is controlling Nucleus’ wallet, be it an original operator, associate, or hacker.
Regardless of who controls the wallet, it would be very difficult for anyone to convert this BTC into fiat without notice. These wallets are constantly monitored, and any suspicious activity could trigger community actions.
Since the Pi Network mainnet launched on February 20, it has made headlines for its ambitious goals. Yet, it has also faced substantial criticism. The underwhelming price performance and lack of DApps, among other issues, have raised questions about Pi Network’s ability to meet the expectations of its reported 60 million users, referred to as Pioneers.
Below are five key areas of underperformance that emerged as focal points for observers in early 2025.
1. Pi Network’s Lack of Binance Listing
Pi Network’s community has been vocal in its push for a listing on major exchanges like Binance. In fact, 86% of participants voted to list Pi Coin (PI) in a February community vote.
Despite this show of support, Binance has not listed PI. On May 15, the exchange posted its logo on X (formerly Twitter) featuring several mathematical symbols, including π. The post sparked speculation among Pioneers, but no official listing announcement followed.
The absence of a listing has led to renewed scrutiny over Pi Network’s credibility. Notably, Binance applies a rigorous evaluation process before listing any asset.
The exchange considers user adoption, business model viability, relevance, tokenomics, technical security, team background, and compliance with regulatory standards. The decision not to list Pi Coin may indicate that the project has yet to meet one or more of these critical benchmarks.
“I now better understand why Pi is not listed on major exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. It is likely that the Pi Core Team has not been transparent enough about the locking and burning mechanism involving the billions of Pi coins currently owned by the PCT,” Pioneer Dr. Altcoin posted on March 22.
Coinbase, another top exchange, has also refrained from listing Pi. This has further fueled disappointment among Pioneers about the token’s potential for mainstream adoption. Nonetheless, Pi Coin remains available for trading on HTX, Bitget, MEXC, and OKX.
2. Pi Coin Price Fails to Meet Expectations
Pioneers have been actively mining Pi Coin for around six years, anticipating major gains. Yet, its price was a major letdown for many. At launch, Pi Coin was listed on OKX with a floor price of just $2. This was way below its IOU trading value.
The underwhelming debut worsened as PI dipped below the $1 mark shortly after listing. Although the token rebounded to an all-time high of $3 in late February, the rally was short-lived. PI soon resumed its downtrend, falling below $1 again by late March.
Last week, the level was briefly reclaimed as support. Yet once more, PI failed to hold above it. These declines came despite some bullish catalysts.
The launch of the Pi Ventures Fund was followed by a sharp price drop rather than a recovery. Additionally, Pi Network founder Nicolas Kokkalis made a rare public appearance at Consensus 2025 on May 16.
Many hoped it would restore investor confidence. Instead, the token plunged. BeInCrypto data showed that PI dipped 42.6% over the past week. At press time, Pi Coin’s price was $0.7, down 3.1% over the past day.
While the official announcement outlines a funding pool of up to $100 million, Pi Network Foundation retains full discretion over the deployment of these funds.
“The Pi Foundation is not obligated to invest the entire $100 million, based on the quality of applicants and number of startups accepted into the initiative,” the blog read.
The initiative also allows for phased investments over time. Additionally, the Foundation can discontinue funding at any stage. This condition has not been well received by some in the community, who expected more immediate and guaranteed support for ecosystem development.
“The $100M promise investment will discontinue from time to time if they don’t see any investors coming or having no impact at all LOL,” a user wrote.
4. Pi Network’s Missing Decentralized Apps (dApps)
The concerns extend beyond the fund’s stability. Dr. Altcoin alleged that the team is using the fund to build DApps that should have already been completed.
He explained that one of Pi Network’s mainnet launch conditions was deploying 100 live dApps. As of May 2025, this promise remains unfulfilled, with most dApps still missing from the ecosystem.
“After 6 years of waiting, why isnt anyone asking the real question: Where are the 100 Dapps we were promised?” the analyst stated.
The shortfall has left many in the community questioning the network’s readiness and ability to support a functional ecosystem.
5. Pi Network’s Roadmap Issues
Another major concern is the lack of transparency. Pi Network unveiled a three-phase roadmap for its mainnet migration in April 2025, but the absence of specific timelines has frustrated users.
A report from BeInCrypto highlighted the community’s backlash, emphasizing that the roadmap did not include estimated dates or an audit process to address discrepancies in historical mining data. This has further deepened distrust in the project’s leadership.
That’s not all. Other issues, such as delays in KYC and challenges in migrating tokens to the Pi Network mainnet, have also been prevalent.
Thus, Pi Network’s first three months post-launch have been marked by unmet expectations and growing disillusionment among its Pioneers. As the network navigates these setbacks, its ability to deliver on its ambitious vision will be critical to restoring confidence in the months ahead.
PI has staged a remarkable comeback after plunging to an all-time low of $0.40 on April 5. Amid a broader market recovery over the past week, the altcoin has seen a resurgence in demand, driving its price up 84% from its recent bottom.
With the bulls attempting to strengthen market control, PI could extend its gains in the short term.
Additionally, the histogram bars, which reflect the strength of that momentum, have gradually increased in size over the past few days, highlighting the growing demand for the altcoin.
When an asset’s MACD is set up this way, upward momentum is building, and buyers are gaining control. PI’s MACD crossover is a bullish signal, suggesting the potential for continued price gains as buying pressure increases.
In addition, PI’s positive Balance of Power (BoP) reflects the growing demand for the altcoin. As of this writing, the indicator is at 0.52.
The BoP indicator measures the strength of buyers versus sellers in the market, helping to identify momentum shifts. When its value is positive, buyers are dominating the market over sellers and driving newer price gains.
Is $1 Within Reach?
PI’s ongoing rally has caused its price to trend within an ascending parallel channel. This bullish pattern is formed when an asset’s price consistently moves between two upward-sloping, parallel trendlines.
It signals a sustained uptrend, with PI buyers gradually gaining control while allowing short-term pullbacks. If the rally continues, PI could exchange hands at $0.95.
