The Pi Foundation today announced the launch of Pi Network Ventures, a $100 million development initiative aimed at investing in startups and businesses that drive Pi adoption and utility.
The fund will be split between Pi tokens and US dollars, sourced from 10% of the PI supply allocated for foundation reserves.
Pi Network’s $100 Million Venture to Improve Utility
The initiative comes shortly after Pi Network’s Open Network launch, which enabled external connectivity. Pi Network Ventures will support early-stage to Series B companies that integrate Pi into products, services, or business processes. Investments will focus on sectors beyond crypto, including AI, fintech, ecommerce, embedded payments, and consumer applications.
Unlike typical blockchain venture funds, Pi Network Ventures plans to operate with Silicon Valley-style sourcing, selection, and vetting processes. Most investments will be made directly in Pi tokens rather than fiat, aligning incentives with Pi’s ecosystem growth.
The Pi Foundation emphasized that the fund’s goal is to accelerate real-world use cases of Pi and strengthen network effects among its tens of millions of KYC-verified users. The $100M is not guaranteed to be fully deployed and will be invested over time depending on the quality and number of applicants.
This marks a major development step as Pi seeks broader real-world integration and decentralized utility expansion.
Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume metrics, has strengthened its compliance regulations for users in South Africa, aligning with the country’s regulatory demands.
The development comes four years after the exchange’s legal engagements with South African regulators, culminating in Binance amending its offerings.
Binance Tightens Compliance for South African Users
Binance announced stricter regulations for its users in South Africa. Effective April 30, users must provide detailed information on both the sender and receiver of any crypto transactions on the exchange.
“In adherence to local regulatory requirements, Binance will gradually introduce changes to crypto withdrawal and deposit procedures for South African users to make sure we continue operating in full compliance to the local requirements,” Binance announced.
Specifically, for deposits, users in South Africa will have to provide the sender’s information when receiving any amount of crypto on their Binance exchange accounts. Regarding crypto withdrawals, users must provide the beneficiary’s information when sending any crypto out of their Binance accounts.
Details could comprise the full name, country of residence, and details regarding the originating exchange.
“This update only affects crypto deposits and withdrawals,” Binance articulated.
The exchange will demand these requirements through a pop-up message when performing the affected transactions.
Further, failure to provide these details could result in delayed transactions or failure to execute entirely. This means crypto assets are returned to the originator.
The upending of these requirements follows growing regulatory pressure from South African regulators, who pursue stronger oversight in the sector.
This decision was part of the regulator’s push for its citizenry to stick with derivative market transactions with a FAIS Act-compliant Registered Financial Services Provider. FAIS stands for Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services.
Meanwhile, as South Africans brace for new regulations regarding the Binance exchange after April 30, the question arises: Is Kenya next?
Kenya To Start Taxing Crypto Exchanges
Recently, reports indicated that Kenya could begin taxing crypto exchanges for commissions they receive from the country’s over four million digital currency users. However, this move is contingent on the adoption of fresh regulations.
Under the proposed new regulations, which guide the payment of the digital service tax, crypto exchanges operating in Kenya will be required to pay a 1.5% duty.
“For the purposes of these Regulations, a taxable electronic, Internet or digital marketplace supply include… facilitation of online payment for, exchange or transfer of digital assets excluding services exempted under the Act,” the Business Daily reported, citing former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u.
At the beginning of 2025, Layer-1 (L1) blockchain network Solana found itself in the spotlight, thanks to meme coins.
Donald Trump’s Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin launch on January 17 ignited a flurry of activity across the network, driving demand to levels unseen since the 2021 bull cycle.
While these volatile assets boosted Solana’s network activity and pushed up SOL’s price, they also present a paradox. They have brought in liquidity, users, and attention—but at what cost?
Presidential Memes Pump Solana Into Overdrive
Solana’s cheap, lightning-fast transactions and highly composable DeFi infrastructure make it one of the most preferred blockchains for launching meme coins. So when newly elected Donald Trump launched his TRUMP meme coin on the network in January, it came as no surprise to many.
Following TRUMP’s launch on January 17, demand for Solana skyrocketed, driven on the one hand by developers eager to launch their own meme coins and on the other by the frenzy of trading activity surrounding them.
Melania Trump followed her husband’s lead by launching her MELANIA meme coin on the same chain two days later. This move exacerbated the meme hype and drove significant trade volumes across multiple meme coins, both existing and newly created.
For example, within a day of launch, MELANIA’s trading volume soared 396%, jumping from $1.33 billion to $6.6 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
Solana Memes Took It to the Moon, Then Back Down
This development drove significant user engagement on Solana. According to Glassnode, by January 24, the network was processing 832,000 active addresses per hour, over 26 times more than Ethereum, which recorded just 31,000 per hour.
Due to the huge influx of new users on the network, transaction fees rocketed. Per Glassnode, Solana’s total transaction fees climbed to an all-time high of $32.43 million on January 19 after MELANIA launched. On the same day, SOL climbed to an all-time high of $293.
However, market exhaustion set in shortly after this price peak was reached. The meme coin mania began to fade, taking Solana users with it. Daily active addresses and new demand for the L1 plunged, dragging down DEX volume, SOL’s price, and DeFi TVL.
For example, SOL’s DEX volume hit an all-time high of $36 billion on January 19. But as the meme coin hype cooled off, by January 31, it had plummeted to just $3.8 billion, dropping nearly 90%. As of April 15, this totaled $1.5 billion.
Solana’s network revenue was not spared. Daily revenue, which rose to an all-time high of $16 million on January 19, plummeted to under $5 million by the end of January. Yesterday, the network’s total revenue from all transactions completed was under $115,000.
While TRUMP, MELANIA, and the slew of other meme coins that launched on Solana in the first few weeks of the year drove unprecedented network activity and boosted SOL’s value, the drop in their values and overall trading volumes has impacted the network’s performance.
It then raises the question of whether Solana’s actual value is now tied to this highly volatile, borderline chaotic asset class.
In an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto, Binance Research spokesperson Marina Zibareva noted that while these meme assets contributed to the network’s growth at the beginning of the year, Solana’s performance remains “increasingly driven by broader ecosystem fundamentals.”
According to Zibareva:
“We’ve seen DeFi TVL grow nearly 4x in SOL terms since January, and stablecoin supply has increased over 6x – pointing to lasting interest in real utility. Developer activity is also accelerating, with smart contract deployments rising almost 6x, suggesting strong long-term potential beyond the speculative wave.”
Although Solana’s inherent features make it a go-to destination for launching meme coins via platforms like Pump.fun, Jupiter, and Meteora, Zibareva sees a future for the network that stretches beyond meme coins.
“Meme coins have brought attention and users, but the long-term trajectory likely points toward use cases like DeFi, DePIN, Gaming, and SocialFi. Solana’s daily active addresses have increased nearly 6x year-to-date, and with its infrastructure battle-tested, we expect to see more developer activity focused on sustainable value creation,” she added.
