Why did core team block APEX?
The core team has their reasons but most likely it can come off as a scam to those who are not knowledgeable in how it would work.
They simply see Apex covering transactions for Pi users who haven't KYC'd. Its a lot of liability and if it goes sideways, it would destroy Pi's trust.
It may be available in the future, but at this time it was asked to be put on hold.