What is Pi Network and How It Works

Pi Network, a crypto project that kicked off on Pi Day (March 14, 2019) thanks to Stanford University figures Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan, has pulled in a massive number of people globally. The main hook is that you can “mine” its Pi Coin using a phone app, which they hope will open up cryptocurrency to everyone. Vincent McPhillip is another name linked to its beginnings, though he’s been less in the spotlight recently. The Original Dream: Crypto for Everyone, Not Just a Few Dr. Kokkalis, who leads the tech side, and Dr. Fan, heading up product, came up with Pi Network because they saw early cryptos like Bitcoin becoming too centralized and hard for regular folks to get into. Kokkalis, with his Ph.D. in Computer Science and work on distributed systems and how people use computers, wanted a digital money that anyone could help secure and use. Fan, who has a Ph.D. in Anthropological Sciences, used her knowledge of social computing and human behavior to try and help people worldwide achieve more through this project. What they said drove them was the idea of a mining system that worked on phones, didn’t hog energy, and wouldn’t kill your battery or need pricey gear. The big picture was to create a system where people could use Pi coins for everyday stuff, building a digital economy that was decentralized and easy to access. The Plan: How It Started and Grew in Stages When Pi Network launched, its first whitepaper talked a lot about making it easy to use, keeping it decentralized by adapting the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), focusing on community, sharing coins fairly, and planning for future uses with smart contracts. It laid out different roles for users—Pioneer, Contributor, Ambassador, and Node—with each role helping the network grow and stay secure. Later, in December 2021, more details were added to the whitepaper about how the tokens and mining work, plus a clearer roadmap. This update set the total Pi supply at 100 billion. The community gets 80% of that (65% from mining, 10% to help the ecosystem grow, and 5% for liquidity), while the Core Team gets 20%. They also mentioned that more coins might be created after the first 100 billion are out. The project has rolled out in three clear steps: * Phase 1: Beta (December 2018 – March 2020): This was all about getting the design right, giving out tokens, and growing the number of users. * Phase 2: Testnet (March 2020 onwards): Here, they tested the blockchain with nodes run by the community and let people make Test-Pi transactions to help develop apps (dApps). * Phase 3: Mainnet: This vital stage is split in two: * Enclosed Mainnet (December 2021 onwards): The Mainnet is up and running but cut off from the outside world by a firewall. This setup allows for widespread Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, moving Pi balances over, and building out the ecosystem in a safe space. * Open Mainnet (Expected around February 20, 2025): When the firewall comes down, the network will be able to connect to other blockchains, wallets, and exchanges. This depends on how ready the ecosystem is and how many people have completed KYC. How Pi Works: The Tech Behind It Pi Network uses a version of the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) to agree on transactions. Stanford Professor David Mazières developed SCP as a type of Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA). Instead of using tons of energy like Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems, Pi’s setup depends on a web of trust. People on their phones create “security circles” with others they trust, and these circles all feed into a larger global trust system. Computer nodes, which numbered over 10,000 during the Testnet phase, then use this trust system with the SCP algorithm to confirm transactions. The blockchain itself is a Layer-1, meaning it’s its own thing and not built on another blockchain, though Stellar’s consensus idea did inspire it. It has different kinds of nodes, like Validator Nodes and SuperNodes. Right now, the Pi Core Team runs some of the validator nodes. The network was initially set up to handle about 1,000 transactions roughly every 5 seconds, which is about 200 TPS. “Mobile Mining”: What’s Really Happening? It’s important to get that Pi’s “mobile mining” isn’t the old-school PoW kind of mining where computers solve hard puzzles. When users check in daily on the app and add to their security circles, they’re not doing heavy calculations. These actions are really ways to give out Pi coins and show they’re real, active people. The actual job of agreeing on transactions falls to the computer nodes. This method keeps energy use super low, which is a big plus compared to PoW cryptos. For doing these things, users get Pi coins. How many they get depends on their role (Pioneer, Contributor, Ambassador), how active their referral team is, if they run a node, and if they choose to lock up their coins. The rate you earn Pi is meant to go down as more people join. The KYC Hurdle and How Users Feel To move the Pi they’ve mined to the Mainnet, users absolutely have to go through the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Pi Network uses its own system that mixes machine checks with human ones done by already-approved, KYC-cleared validators. The idea is to make sure users are real, stop fake accounts, and follow the rules. However, this KYC step has caused a lot of headaches. People have complained about long waits, tech problems, and not enough clear information, which has been frustrating. Some also worry about their data privacy, even though Pi Network says they use methods to hide and encrypt data. Pi Coin: What Can You Do With It? And What Might It Be Worth? Right now, with the Mainnet closed off, Pi Coin is mostly used inside the Pi world. Through the Pi Browser and Pi Wallet, people can use Pi to buy things and services from a growing collection of Pi Apps. Events like PiFest are meant to show how Pi can be used by linking up sellers and buyers. We’ll really see what Pi Coin is worth when the Open Mainnet goes live, which is slated for February 20, 2025. That’s when it should start appearing on outside crypto exchanges, though the Pi Core Team has warned people about unofficial IOU listings that are already out there. Several exchanges have said they plan to list Pi Coin once the Open Mainnet is active. Getting more businesses outside the current Pi ecosystem to accept it and linking up with payment systems are also in the long-term plans. Community and Growth: A Blessing and a Curse? Pi Network says it has a huge number of users, often talking about tens of millions (like over 60 million around the world). A lot of this growth came from its referral program, where people get more mining power for bringing in new members. This has been great for getting users, but it’s also led to some people comparing it to multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. Pi Network denies this, pointing out that referrals only go one level deep and you don’t have to pay anything to join. Still, there are some gaps between the user numbers they claim and the data on how many active wallets and KYC-verified Mainnet users there actually are, making some wonder about true long-term involvement. Doubts, Questions, and Staying Secure Pi Network has gotten a fair bit of flak for how long it’s taking to develop, the fact that Pi Coin doesn’t have any real-world value outside its system yet, and worries about centralization since the Core Team still holds a lot of power during this Enclosed Mainnet phase. Some have even accused it of just being a way to collect data. The project has also caught the eye of regulators in a few places, with officials in countries like Vietnam and China issuing warnings. Pi Network’s response is that its step-by-step plan is to make sure the platform is strong and safe. For security, they use things like two-factor authentication (2FA) for moving to the Mainnet, wallets where users hold their own private keys (non-custodial), and the SCP-based system for agreement, which is backed by the user-created trust circles. What’s Next: The Roadmap and Big Dreams The project has moved from its Beta version to the Testnet, and now it’s in the Enclosed Mainnet stage. Getting to the Open Mainnet is a big step that depends on hitting certain targets: enough KYC completions (they say they’ve passed a 15 million goal with over 19 million verified), enough Mainnet migrations (passed a 10 million goal), and enough useful apps in the ecosystem (aiming for at least 100 real Pi apps, a target they also say they’ve met). Looking way ahead, Pi Network wants to build an inclusive system where people can interact directly and a widely used Web3 platform, all to help create a decentralized digital economy. This dream also involves plans for the community to govern the network, possibly using something like a liquid democracy model. Locking Up Coins: A Way to Show You’re In It for the Long Haul A big part of how Pi’s tokens work is the option to voluntarily lock up Pi coins. People can choose to lock up some of their Pi for a set time (up to three years) and get a better mining rate in return. This is supposed to get people to stick around long-term, help control how many coins are out there, and keep the ecosystem stable. While it could be good for the network, the fact that you can’t undo a lockup and the unknown future value of Pi do pose risks for users. Team-Ups and Market Guesses So far, during this pre-Open Mainnet time, there haven’t been many official big partnerships with well-known companies. However, recent news and talk around Consensus 2025 suggest more integrations might be on the way. There’s been some buzz about working with groups like BNP Paribas, Chainlink, and Ethereum, but we’re still waiting for official word and the full story on those. Trying to guess Pi Coin’s price is mostly just speculation because you can’t trade it on major exchanges yet. Any prices you see for IOUs don’t reflect its official value. Experts are all over the place: some are hopeful because of the huge user base and phone-first design, while others are very doubtful about how truly decentralized it is, its economic setup, and how open it’s been. Protecting Ideas and Building the Ecosystem Pi Network has trademarked its brand (“Pi,” “Pi Network,” and the logo) in key places. While its blockchain uses open-source things like SCP, it also has its own Pi Open Source (PiOS) license for developers who want to build on its platform. It seems they’re more focused on protecting their brand than on patenting the core blockchain tech. The Pi App ecosystem, which you get to through the Pi Browser, is a huge part of their plan to make Pi useful. They try to attract developers by giving them access to a big audience, tools like SDKs and APIs, and possible earnings from the Pi Ad Network or grants. Money for More People and How It’s Run A lot of Pi Network’s attraction comes from its promise to help more people get into finance by offering easy-to-use crypto tools, especially for those who don’t have bank accounts or easy access to financial services. But whether it can actually do this depends on solving problems related to its value, usefulness, and getting approval from regulators. Right now, the Core Team is in charge of how the network is run, but they plan to move to a “progressive decentralization model,” where the community eventually takes over. Making this switch is a really important step if they want to have a truly decentralized network. What Are the Risks? Experts Don’t Agree People using Pi or thinking about it should know about the risks: the time you have to put in every day, worries about data privacy with KYC, and the big question mark over what Pi Coin will actually be worth in the future. Experts are split. Some see its new ideas and strong community as positives, but others point to its centralized control, long development time, and unclear path to becoming genuinely valuable. To sum it up, Pi Network is a big, bold project with a lot of people following it, all drawn by the idea of crypto you can get on your phone. As it gets closer to the very important shift to an Open Mainnet, the next while will be key in showing if it can live up to its grand plans and answer the lingering questions about its tech, money model, and if it’s really a legitimate player in the crowded crypto world. Share Share Tweet