Top Crypto Movers This Week: Pi Network, Cetus & Optimism in Focus

Bitcoin (BTC), which recently hit an all-time high of nearly $112,000, has pulled back to $107,000 amid a broader market correction. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization tracked by CoinGecko has also declined, now standing at $3.49 trillion.

Despite the general market downturn, a few standout projects are demonstrating resilience. Pi Network (PI), Cetus Protocol (CET), and Optimism (OP) have emerged as top tokens to watch. Optimism, in particular, saw a strong gain of 7.49%, while Pi and Cetus posted modest gains of 2.08% and 2.35%, respectively.

These tokens are drawing increased attention for their stability and relative strength at a time when many major cryptocurrencies are grappling with fading momentum and growing macroeconomic uncertainty. As investors reassess risk in a shifting environment, these projects could remain in focus for their potential to outperform.

Pi Network

The price of Pi Network is expected to come under increased scrutiny this week, with over 70 million additional tokens—valued at approximately $53 million—set to be unlocked. The largest tranche of this release, 15.2 million coins, will become available on May 28.

Founded in 2019 by Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, Pi Network has a daily token unlock mechanism. Looking ahead, approximately 261 million tokens are scheduled for release in June, and a total of 1.57 billion tokens over the next 12 months. These unlocks can exert downward pressure on the price, particularly in the absence of strong demand, due to the increased circulating supply.

Pi’s price has already been trending downward in recent weeks, falling sharply from a monthly high of $1.6692 to as low as $0.7766. This decline accelerated following the launch of Pi Network Ventures, a $100 million ecosystem fund aimed at supporting startups that utilize the Pi token.

While the initiative is a step toward ecosystem growth, investor sentiment weakened due to the lack of updates on crucial issues—most notably, listings on major tier-1 exchanges and ongoing concerns over centralization. The additional supply from token unlocks has only added to the bearish outlook.

Technically, Pi Network has formed a bearish flag pattern on the eight-hour chart, signaling the potential for further declines—possibly retesting this month’s low of $0.5545.

Cetus Protocol

The largest decentralized exchange on Sui Sui Sui, Cetus, with a 2.27% market share.

Sui made news last week when millions of dollars’ worth of tokens were emptied by hackers. Before the hackers moved all of the $162 million in funds, the protocol was able to freeze them.

Cetus said in a statement that it believed a community vote would be successful in unlocking the $162 million in blocked funds. According to Sui, the on-chain vote was being designed and is probably going to take place this week.

Additionally, Cetus wants to settle with the hackers in a whitehat manner. Additionally, it has offered a $5 million reward to assist in locating the hackers and pursuing legal action.

From a peak of $0.2568 on May 22 to its lowest point since April 23, CET, its native token, has been in a freefall.

Optimism

This week’s highlight will be Optimism, a top layer-2 network that unlocks $23.4 million coins, or 1.88% of the float. The normal monthly releases include these unlocks.

The OP token is now worth $0.7320, down from its peak of $2.7715 in November of last year. Both the 50-day and 100-day moving averages have remained below it. Additionally, it created a common bearish reversal pattern known as an ascending expanding wedge.

Maverick Protocol, dYdX, Celo, and Velas Finance are some of the other cryptocurrencies with large token unlocks this week.