Decentralized Content Network Pipe Launches Mainnet - Token Plummets 32% Amid Market Skepticism

Another day, another 'revolutionary' blockchain project goes live—and investors are voting with their sell orders.

The Mainnet Reality Check

Pipe's decentralized content network finally hit mainnet after years of development, promising to disrupt traditional content distribution models. The technology supposedly cuts out middlemen and gives creators direct control over their work. But the market response tells a different story entirely.

Token holders didn't wait to see if the technology actually works. The native token immediately shed 32% of its value—because nothing says 'success' like watching a third of your investment evaporate within hours of launch. Active trading volumes spiked as early backers raced for the exits, while true believers doubled down on their positions.

Technical Promise vs. Market Reality

The network's architecture bypasses centralized servers through peer-to-peer content delivery, theoretically reducing costs and increasing resilience. Development teams celebrated the milestone while quietly ignoring the elephant in the room: blockchain projects have become the modern equivalent of railroad stocks in the 1800s—everyone's building them, but few actually need them.

Market analysts noted the classic pattern: massive hype during development, followed by brutal reality checks at launch. The 32% drop puts Pipe in familiar company with dozens of other 'world-changing' projects that discovered the hard way that working technology doesn't necessarily equal market demand.

Because in crypto, sometimes the most decentralized thing is the disappointment.

The team explained that the PIPE token functionalizes real utility on the network with each token representing measurable activity on the system, from gigabytes of storage to terabytes of bandwidth. “$PIPE is a utility token with tangible value,” the team wrote on X. Users can pay with $PIPE or convert SOL to PIPE for access to bandwidth, storage, and compute credits.

In addition, Node operators can earn $PIPE for delivering resources, while operators stake tokens to register points of presence and maintain performance.

Now listed on Major Exchanges

PIPE token is not available for trading on major exchanges including Binance, Gate.io, KuCoin, and Kraken (EU region), with support for the United States expected soon. 

The team also detailed how rewards work for network participants. Node runners must upgrade to mainnet to begin earning monthly payouts. Those who operated during the testnet phase will receive double rewards for the first 12 months, a plan the company called a “workdrop.”

Community Criticized Team on Reward Plan

However, some in the network’s community did not welcome the new reward system. Some early supporters felt that Pipe Network’s plan did not fairly reward those who helped test the platform before the mainnet launch. 

During the Devnet and Testnet phases, several users spent time and resources running nodes to support the network’s early development. When the mainnet went live, they expected direct token rewards for their past efforts. Instead, they learned that rewards WOULD come gradually over the next year through the “workdrop” program. 

Some users do not agree with this as they believed their early work should have earned them immediate compensation. One user, Gautamgg, posted, “This is just an excuse not to reward early contributors ….In the absence of rewards for early users, how are they going to use the product on the mainnet !!” 

This is just an excuse not to reward early contributors

In the absence of rewards for early users, how are they going to use the product on the mainnet !! pic.twitter.com/CHu9hi2AYj

However, Pipe Network clarified that early node operators would still receive monthly “double rewards” for their previous efforts. The company said these payouts would be sent on a regular basis as the network continues to grow.

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