TL;DR

PI surged by double digits amid a market momentum and anticipation of a Pi Network ecosystem announcement. However, millions of PI tokens will be released mid-month, raising concerns about potential sell pressure and incoming volatility.

PI on the Run

Pi Networks native token, whose price consolidated below $0.60 at the start of May, witnessed a solid surge in the past 24 hours. It briefly climbed to a nearly one-month high of $0.77 before slightly retracing to the current $0.75 (per CoinGeckos data). The represents an almost 20% pump compared to the valuation observed on May 8.

PI Price, Source: CoinGecko PIs market capitalization exceeded $5 billion, making it the 32nd-largest cryptocurrency. It is ahead of well-known altcoins such as Uniswap (UNI), Near Protocol (NEAR), Official Trump (TRUMP), and more.

Two obvious factors have likely triggered the rise. The first is, of course, the revival of the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin (BTC) soared well above $100,000. The other is the expectation of a major development following a recent announcement by the Pi Network team.

As CryptoPotato reported, the projects developers teased an ecosystem announcement that would be released on May 14. Crypto X exploded with speculations, with some community members predicting a potential PI listing on Binance. 

The assets latest price increase caught the eye of numerous market observers who think theres more room for growth. X user MOON JEFF, who regularly touches upon the matter, claimed PI has surpassed the $0.75 micro resistance level, predicting a jump to $1. It is important to note that the last time the price traded above the one-dollar zone was in March of this year. 

Another user on the social media platform recently wondered if the valuation could explode to $5, asking its followers to drop their predictions. Some of the outlined targets include astonishing figures like $10 and even $20, which seem quite unrealistic (at least as of the moment).

Investors Should Tread Carefully

Despite the rally, PI is not completely out of the woods, and its price might decline in the short term. There will be a massive release of locked assets by the middle of this month. The record day is expected to be May 16, when almost 15 million PI will be freed up.

This will give investors the chance to sell tokens theyve been waiting for a long time. Although this doesnt guarantee such a scenario, the danger of a mass exit still looms.

It is worth mentioning that the unlocks are expected to cool down towards the end of the month and the beginning of June.