Pi Network (PI) closed the month at its lowest level since being listed on exchanges. Despite a wave of positive news during the first week of July, it wasn’t enough to stop Pioneers from transferring Pi to centralized exchanges (CEXs), increasing selling pressure.
Recent updates from the Pi Core Team show noteworthy development progress. However, these efforts seem insufficient in the current market environment.
Over 370 Million PI on Exchanges Increases Selling Pressure
According to BeInCrypto’s observations, the amount of PI tokens on centralized exchanges has consistently risen over the past five months. The figure grew from 263 million in March to over 370 million now—an increase of more than 40%.
In May, Pi Network founder Nicolas Kokkalis made a rare public appearance. His presence sparked excitement and a strong accumulation of Pi, causing a sharp drop in the amount of Pi on exchanges.
However, in June, negative sentiment returned amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. This shift pushed the trend back toward rising exchange balances.
Investor Moon Jeff noted that in just the last two days, 8 million PI were deposited onto exchanges.
“The selling pressure continues to increase. 370 million PI in exchanges. An increase of 8 million $PI in 2 days. The selling pressure is mainly from increasing deposits,” Moon Jeff said.
In addition, data from PiScan shows that 232.9 million PI tokens will unlock in July, further putting pressure on Pioneers’ sentiment.
In the first week of July, Pi’s price dropped 9%, from $0.51 to $0.46. A recent analysis by BeInCrypto suggests that Pi may continue declining toward a new low at $0.40.
Pi Network’s Price Performance Over The Past Month. Source: BeInCrypto
It’s fair to say the first week of July brought many positive developments for Pioneers. Yet, they still weren’t enough to lift holders’ confidence. Many holders often wait for promised news, but when those updates arrive, the price tends to drop further.
This cycle is fueling growing dissatisfaction within the Pi community, reflected in the ever-increasing amount of Pi held on exchanges.
Donald Trump has followed through on his promises and signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate US Digital Asset Stockpile.
While some industry figures have lauded the order, others remain skeptical. They argue that the initiative is little more than a rebranding of existing government holdings with no substantive new strategy.
Donald Trump Signs Order for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
“Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, is referred to as “digital gold” because of its scarcity and security, having never been hacked. With a fixed supply of 21 million coins, there is a strategic advantage to being among the first nations to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” the order read.
Arkham Intelligence data shows that the US government holds 198,109 BTC in its public wallets, valued at $17.5 billion at current market prices.
Despite this substantial holding, David Sacks, the White House’s AI and Crypto Czar, noted that a comprehensive audit of the government’s digital assets has never been conducted. The new executive order mandates this accounting.
“Premature sales of Bitcoin have already cost US taxpayers over $17 billion in lost value. Now the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its holdings,” he wrote.
Industry Experts Divided on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Jacob King, founder of WhaleWire, dismissed the recent attention around the reserve.
“In reality, this has existed for over a decade—they’re just slapping a fancy title on it to appease Bitcoiners,” he remarked.
King also pointed out that the reserve would not involve any new Bitcoin purchases. Therefore, he believes, this makes the move largely insignificant in the grand scheme of the market.
Peter Schiff, an outspoken critic of Bitcoin, also weighed in on the order. According to Schiff, the move was made under pressure from donors and conflicted cabinet members.
He described the order as a “bogus” attempt to capitalize on the Bitcoin the government already holds.
“If they seize any more Bitcoin they can keep that too. But they can’t buy any more, as buying by definition requires a payment,” Schiff posted.
Despite the criticisms, some industry leaders see the order as a significant step toward legitimizing Bitcoin on the world stage.
“The end game was never the US government buys all of the world’s Bitcoin,” Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise, said.
Rasmussen explained that the move will likely prompt other countries to buy Bitcoin. He also expects it to pressure wealth managers, financial institutions, pensions, and endowments to adopt the cryptocurrency.
The reserve, Rasmussen said, will alleviate concerns about the US selling its holdings and may pave the way for future acquisitions. He added that the move increases the likelihood of US states adopting Bitcoin.
Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise, also concurred. He pointed out that the order could significantly reduce the likelihood of future Bitcoin bans. Hougan added that the reserve,
“Accelerates the speed at which other nations will consider establishing strategic bitcoin reserves, because it creates a short-term window for nations to front-run potential additional buying by the US.”
Analyst Nic Carter also praised the decision, calling it a successful fulfillment of a key campaign promise. He highlighted that Bitcoin had received official US government approval, a distinction not granted to other cryptocurrencies. Carter emphasized that using no taxpayer funds helped shield the initiative from backlash.
“Announcement couldn’t have gone better,” he claimed.
The signing of the executive order took place just one day before the White House Crypto Summit. Initially, it was anticipated that Trump would sign the Bitcoin reserve order at the summit, which had driven Bitcoin prices up. Nonetheless, the actual signing led to a dip in the cryptocurrency’s value.
After briefly regaining that level on March 5, Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 again. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $87,469, marking a 4.5% decrease over the past 24 hours.
There has been a sharp decline in daily active addresses across Smart Contract Platforms (SCPs) in recent months, raising concerns among investors and developers.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade could be the turning point, with crypto analyst Jamie Coutts calling the current state a cleansing of the ecosystem.
SCPs See Sharp Decline in Active Users
Jamie Coutts, who built Bloomberg Intelligence’s crypto research product, says this is the worst decline ever recorded in the history of SCPs.
He also notes that it is far worse than the 2022-2023 bear market, with daily active addresses dropping 40.5% in just five months.
“This is the largest usage collapse in SCP history,” wrote Coutts.
Coutts’ analysis provides a deeper look at the broader crypto ecosystem, which is simultaneously witnessing an uptick in global liquidity and an all-time high in stablecoin market cap.
While the sector seems to be experiencing a shakeout, Coutts says this decline does not indicate the death of smart contract platforms. Rather, it is a necessary cleansing of the ecosystem.
The analyst attributes the drop in daily active addresses to several key factors, including the rise of artificial activity.
“Much of the past cycle’s growth was artificial: Usage inflated by bots and Sybil farms, Incentive programs created temporary traction without stickiness. The unwind reflects a cleansing of fake activity, not the death of the sector,” Coutts explains.
The rise of bots and Sybil attacks, where bad actors create multiple fake identities to manipulate a platform’s usage metrics, has artificially inflated the activity numbers across various smart contract platforms.
Now, as these fake users are being weeded out, the real growth potential of SCPs is becoming clearer.
Moreover, this trend suggests that SCPs with weak application ecosystems or limited use cases will face significant valuation compression. This is especially true without stablecoin integration or real-world asset (RWA) applications.
Coutts notes that many SCP tokens risk valuation compression if their platforms do not offer high throughput, low-cost, and real settlement capabilities.
The market will likely reward mature platforms capable of supporting real economic activity. These include stablecoin transactions, payments, and AI-native applications.
“…going forward, value will concentrate in platforms that enable high-throughput, low-cost, real settlement and agentic automation,” he added.
Ethereum Staking Surge Post-Pectra
Interestingly, these predictions align with the recent Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7, 2025.
The Pectra upgrade introduces key features that could help Ethereum, the largest smart contract platform, stay ahead in this playing field. Specifically, the upgrade improves Ethereum’s staking model and validator operations.
CryptoQuant recently indicated a notable spike in ETH staking around the Pectra Upgrade news. Specifically, before the Pectra upgrade news, ETH staking saw a net outflow of around 1.02 million ETH, reflecting uncertainty.
However, after the news, staking rebounded with a 627,000 ETH inflow, signaling renewed market confidence in the Ethereum staking ecosystem.
“Before Pectra News (Nov 16 – Feb 15): ETH staking dropped from ≈34.88M to 33.86M ETH, a net outflow of ~1.02M ETH. This period reflects market uncertainty and mild unwinding of staking positions ahead of the upgrade. After Pectra News (Feb 16 – May 16): Total ETH staked rose from 33.78M to 34.41M ETH — a net inflow of ~627K ETH. Indicates renewed confidence in the staking process following the upgrade,” wrote CryptoQuant analyst Kripto Mevsimi.
ETH Staking before and after Pectra Upgrade news. Source: CryptoQuant
In the same tone, Bohdan Opryshko, co-founder and COO at Everstake, told BeInCrypto that the Pectra upgrade may be Ethereum’s most institution-friendly update. He says the upgrade is the clearest signal that Ethereum is ready for conservative capital.
“For the first time, institutions can stake at scale with operational clarity and reduced complexity. It’s a green light for conservative capital to get involved in native Ethereum staking,” Opryshko told BeInCrypto.
Further, Pectra’s introduction of smart accounts allows Ethereum wallets to execute smart contract logic. This could drive stablecoin integration.
At the same time, it could enhance scalability. This would make Ethereum better suited to handle real economic activities such as payments and financial transactions.
Nevertheless, Coutts highlighted a divergence between price action and network activity, a common phenomenon in the crypto space. While markets stabilize, activity on many SCPs remains stagnant.
Coutts notes that this divergence will not last. More sophisticated capital will increasingly flow toward platforms that anchor real economic behavior, especially via stablecoin flows and payments.
“Markets may be stabilizing, but activity is not,” More sophisticated capital will increasingly rotate toward chains that anchor real economic behavior, especially via stablecoin flows, payments, and AI-native applications,” Coutts says.
Finally, Coutts predicts that a liquidity-driven rally will return, fueled by the significant liquidity expected to enter the system in the coming months.
However, he cautions that the value will likely accrue to a subset of SCPs that can deliver tangible value through real-world applications and stablecoin integration. This sentiment aligns with the structural upgrades brought by Ethereum’s Pectra fork.
