Why did someone invest over $100 million in a little-known altcoin: the main theories

Disclaimer: GetBlock AML Research does not provide investment advice or financial consulting. Our articles are for informational purposes only.

In recent months, an unknown whale has been accumulating Pi Network (PI) tokens, despite the fact that the coin’s value has fallen by almost 90% in six months. GetBlock AML Research investigates why someone would need a little-known altcoin.

What’s unusual

Pi Network is an unremarkable Layer-1 network that provides the ability to deploy various decentralized applications. The platform’s token (PI) ranks 40th in CoinMarketCap’s ranking of the most capitalized cryptocurrencies (market cap of $2,6 billion).

The PI token was launched in February 2025. At its peak, its value was $2,79, but the price of the altcoin has been declining for the last six months. At the time of publication, the PI is trading at $0,34 (a decrease of almost 88%). Major exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, Kraken, and others have not yet listed the PI. The coin is traded only on Gate, MEXC, Bitget, and OKX exchanges.

Wallet with 350 million PI accumulated

Despite the sharp decline in the price of PI, an unknown address on the Pi Network is accumulating a large number of coins. In three months, the whale has accumulated 350 million PI (equivalent to $119,2 million). Coin purchases are mainly made on exchanges, with the whale often buying PI on OKX, Gate, and MEXC.

Large PI withdrawals from exchanges to the whale’s wallet

As of early August 2025, only 2,2 billion PI tokens are in circulation. Another 5,2 billion PI remain locked.

First theory

Some members of the crypto community have suggested that the address that purchased $119 million worth of PI over the past three months belongs to the development team. The essence of this theory is that the creators of Pi Network are secretly buying back tokens. Perhaps the developers do not want to publicly announce the buyback of coins in order to avoid provoking an increase in the PI exchange rate. However, the creators of PI Network have not yet commented on this theory.

One X user believes that the Pi Network team is conducting a reverse buyback of coins

Second theory

Another part of the crypto community is inclined to believe that the address actively accumulating PI coins is not a private investor. In their opinion, PI is being accumulated by one of the major exchanges for subsequent listing of the coin. But so far, this theory has not been confirmed either, as no major exchange has yet announced plans to start trading PI.

One X user’s assumption that the address belongs to a major exchange