The scam surfaced when traders discovered a platform calling itself Prashu displaying multiple “PI” trading pairs—complete with fake price charts, issuer names, and trading data. The listings appeared convincing enough to fool unsuspecting users, but members of the Pi Network community quickly identified them as fraudulent.
Within hours, warnings spread across social media, urging investors to stay away. “Do not buy or connect your wallet. None of this is legitimate,” one user posted after verifying that the addresses behind the so-called Pi tokens were fabricated.
A Repeat Offender
The exchange behind the listings, Prashu, has a history of suspicious activity. Earlier this year, users accused the platform of stealing funds through a fake giveaway that required them to connect wallets using private keys—resulting in the loss of USDC and other tokens. Following the new reports, the site has again been taken offline.
The scam’s timing coincided with new online rumors claiming Pi Network would soon integrate with Stellar to build decentralized applications and enable real-world asset trading. The claims, which spread rapidly across X (formerly Twitter), suggested that the collaboration would bring 60 million Pi users into the Stellar ecosystem by 2026.
However, developers and long-time Pioneers were quick to dispel the rumors, pointing out that Pi runs on its own blockchain and has no dependency on Stellar’s infrastructure. Neither Pi Network’s Core Team nor the Stellar Development Foundation has issued any statement confirming such cooperation.
Shared Roots, Separate Paths
The confusion stems from a technical overlap: Pi’s blockchain architecture is partly inspired by Stellar’s Consensus Protocol (SCP) and its Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) model. Yet the two networks remain independent. Pi’s August protocol upgrade—built on Stellar’s version 23—added new layers of control and scalability but did not link the two chains.
Analysts say scams like this are common in crypto, especially when speculation about partnerships or token launches spreads without verification. By leveraging trending narratives, fraudsters create fake tokens on public networks, banking on hype and misinformation.
The Pi Network team has repeatedly urged users to rely only on official channels and to avoid trading any “Pi” tokens outside its native ecosystem. Authentic Pi transactions occur solely on the Pi blockchain, not on Stellar or any other public chain.
The latest hoax serves as a reminder of how quickly rumors and opportunists can exploit crypto communities—and how essential verification remains in a space where imitation often travels faster than truth.