Pi Network (PI) is a decentralized project in which its Pi coin, or PI cryptocurrency, is mined directly from Pi users’ smartphones using the Pi Network app with no start-up costs or any energy-intensive equipment required.
The Pi coin sparked controversy across the crypto industry in the last month when several crypto exchanges, including Huobi, BitMart, and XT.com, listed a synthetic version of the Pi tokens with the trading pair PI/USDT. As a result, PI’s price skyrocketed nearly 1,500%, with the inauthentic Pi coins reaching over $300.
However, the Pi team tweeted against listing its digital assets on exchanges, stating that it hadn’t authorized any exchange listing.
So what is Pi crypto, and how does the Pi network work? Is it merely a multi-level marketing (MLM) and pyramid scheme or a breakthrough technology?
Read on to learn more about the first digital currency you can mine from your phone and our Pi coin price prediction based on experts’ opinions to decide if Pi coins are worth your time and attention.
Key Takeaways
- Pi Network is a decentralized project enabling users to mine PI, its primary cryptocurrency, using the Pi Network app, available for Android and iOS devices.
- PI cryptocurrency is mined directly from Pi users’ smartphones with no start-up costs or any energy-intensive equipment required.
- The mining process only requires users to tap a button on their phone every 24 hours and prove they’re not a robot.
- Pi Network uses a referral system enabling you to earn extra Pi coins by inviting new users to join the network with your invitation code.
- Pi Network currently claims to have over 35 million users worldwide that own a Pi wallet and are actively mining PI.
- You can’t withdraw or trade PI anywhere in the world, as Pi coins haven’t yet been listed on any crypto exchange.
- Pi Network has advised PI users against engagement with any exchanges which are acting without the consent, authority, or involvement of the network. Further, the products traded on these exchanges are not real Pi tokens. It has asked users to continue communicating directly with the Pi community and trust only official Pi channels.
- Most experts have a positive outlook and expect the Pi coin to rally once the Pi Network’s mainnet is launched and the coin gets listed on exchanges.
What Is Pi Network?
Pi Network is a decentralized project enabling users to mine PI, its primary cryptocurrency, using the Pi Network app available for Android and iOS devices. The mining process only requires users to tap a button on their phone every 24 hours and prove they’re not a robot. While users don’t verify transactions to be added to a distributed ledger typical for crypto mining, they receive PI coin vouchers in return for using the app once per day.
Pi Network was founded in 2018 by Stanford University graduates Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, who were aiming to build an energy-efficient and accessible way of conducting transactions. The Pi Network team’s vision was to make the world’s most inclusive peer-to-peer marketplace, fueled by Pi coins, the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency. The Pi Network app and Whitepaper were launched on March 14, 2019 (Pi Day). The Enclosed Mainnet and new chapters of the updated Pi Whitepaper covering the Pi Token Model, Mining Mechanism, and Pi Network’s Roadmap were launched on December 28, 2021.
The Pi coin is regulated and managed by a social community by the Pi team’s mission of building a cryptocurrency and smart contracts platform secured and operated by everyday people. While you can’t withdraw or trade PI anywhere in the world, as Pi coins haven’t yet been listed on any cryptocurrency exchange, the project’s creators claim PI will gain value once the protocol launches the Pi mainnet. The network is in the second phase of testing and is expecting a full-fledged launch that might happen in phase 3.
However, Pi coins are easily accessible via mining on Pi apps.
How Does Pi Network Work?
The Pi blockchain is unique as it uses a consensus mechanism known as Stellar Consensus protocol (SCP), which enables users to earn rewards for their contribution to the network. The SCP is designed to be secure, efficient, and faster than Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanisms.
It’s a decentralized, open-source protocol for enabling secure and efficient digital transactions by distributing the monitoring and approval of transactions across many individual nodes instead of one central system. Users earn rewards by participating in the consensus process – simply tapping a button – and the mined PI tokens go into the Pi wallet.
The project’s user base has grown due to its controversial multi-level marketing (MLM) strategy, similar to a pyramid scheme, where users receive Pi coins for inviting new users to join the network. In turn, new users get rewarded for onboarding more people.
In September 2022, the Pi Network launched the Pi Bridge, designed to make it more compatible by connecting Pi Network to blockchains such as Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon to ease data transmission across networks and Pi holders.
Pi Network currently claims to have over 35 million users worldwide owning a Pi wallet and actively mining PI. The network said it had crossed two million followers on Twitter.
Tip
It’s worth noting that the same user can be added to multiple security circles in the Pi Network.
Types of Pi Network Users
Pi Network uses a referral system enabling you to earn extra Pi coins depending on the number of new users who join the network with your invitation code. Users can have four roles:
- Pioneer: Miners who mine Pi by tapping the lightning button every 24 hours. After actively mining for three days, Pioneers qualify to become Contributors.
- Contributor: Contributors who add three to five trusted users to the security circle earn an extra 0.2 Pi coin per hour for each member of their security circle.
- Ambassador: Ambassadors introduce new users to the network through their referral code. They earn a 25% mining bonus for each user they invite to join the network through their invitation code.
- Node: Pi Network validators run the Pi node software on their personal computers and get rewarded with an additional boost in their Pi mining process. This software is currently in the testing phase.
Pro-tip
Unlike Contributors, an invitee can only join one Ambassador’s earning team.
Pi Network Latest Controversy
While officially, Pi coins aren’t available for listing or trading anywhere, some crypto exchanges, such as Huobi, BitMart, and XT.com, reportedly listed a synthetic version of the Pi tokens on their platforms. This sparked controversy across the entire crypto space in the last month. The huge hype caused the Pi cryptocurrency value to jump nearly 1,500%, with the Pi ‘IOUs’ soaring to an all-time high of $307.49 on December 30.
However, the Pi Network responded to the news: “PI is currently in the Enclosed Network and is not approved by Pi Network for listing on any exchange or for trading.”
Moreover, Pi Network has advised PI users against engagement with any of these exchanges. This is because the network is protected by a firewall, and no third party or exchange can interact with it unless authorized, which was not the case. It has asked users to continue communicating directly with the Pi community and trust only official Pi channels here.
In its January 6 statement, the team stated:
“… Pi Network has no association with any of these exchanges, which are acting without the consent, authority, or involvement of the network. Further, the products being traded on these exchanges are not the real Pi tokens.”
Meanwhile, Pi Network’s utility token, Wrapped Pi (WPI), has launched and is now open for trading on PancakeSwap. It will work on a 1:1 basis with the Pi Coin, which means that for every WPI created, a Pi Coin will be locked.
Pi Network Coin Price Predictions
Since the PI cryptocurrency’s future is unpredictable, many experts are very conservative in their Pi network price predictions, and algorithm-based forecast websites aren’t giving out a PI cryptocurrency value prediction.
The algorithm-based forecasting sites Wallet Investor and DigitalCoinPrice previously listed an estimated $0.007077 for PI coin. In 2021, the latter site’s Pi coin price prediction for 2025 was $0.0212, indicating possible growth throughout 2023 and 2024.
Changelly states that there’s no Pi coin price history, nor has the coin shown how it responds to the price movements of the crypto market and Bitcoin for the experts to determine how much Pi coin will be worth. Plus, Pi coin isn’t available on any exchanges yet, making it challenging to forecast its price.
While these factors make any prediction on the Pi coin’s price speculative, here are some analyses based on factors affecting the coin price, including supply and demand, user adoption, and market sentiment.
Changelly Pi coin price prediction 2023 is optimistic, and they assume Pi coin will rally after its listing, as the PI cryptocurrency is beginner-friendly and free to mine. Moreover, it forecasts the crypto market to recover in 2023, so Pi coin might see its price rise to all-time highs. Its price prediction for 2026 is that the Pi coin might reach unprecedented highs and become profitable.
Capital has a positive outlook for the future when the Pi Network’s mainnet is launched. However, it notes that PI is an unlisted token that is practically worthless, and there is no historical data on the Pi Network’s performance. It says that Pi Network’s creators are yet to reveal how many Pi coins are in circulation when the project is formally launched, and the maximum supply is still to be determined. It doesn’t offer Pi network price prediction for 2023 or other future dates since the coin has not yet been formally launched, and the Pi Network lacks a price history, making it impossible to analyze how its price reacts to crypto market fluctuations.
Cryptonews expects the Pi cryptocurrency value at around $0.08 on the low end (market cap of $24 billion) or about $0.24 on the high end ($72 billion) in 2023. However, it mentions that for the high end of its value prediction to come true, many applications must be in network development. For 2025, it makes a low-end Pi coin price prediction of $0.15 at a market cap of about $59.25 billion and as high as $0.35 if adoption increases faster than expected. Its optimistic forecast is due to the Pi ecosystem’s heavy decentralization, low-cost transactions, and energy-efficient nature.
Potential Risks and Challenges
The Pi app is free to use, so there is no financial risk. It takes very little time and energy to mine PI, and if it rallies after being listed on exchanges, you can reap benefits by selling your PI coins.
But it’s worth noting that the Pi Network app could possibly collect and sell your data, including personal data, app usage data, and advertising-related data.
Additionally, unlike other decentralized mining protocols, the Pi Network requires “Know Your Customer” (KYC) verification: Users submit copies of their government-issued identification to start using it. The project says this process helps to prevent users from creating multiple accounts. But according to a Vietnamese news outlet, Pi Network was connected to 17GB worth of personal data leaks. Justin Wu of Pi Network’s marketing and growth team told Cointelegraph that the app’s KYC was carried out by third-party actors and that no Vietnamese identity cards were held on Pi Network’s servers. He added that an internal check didn’t uncover any evidence of a data leak.
However, some experts have raised concerns about the Pi Network’s legitimacy, raising questions on whether the project is a classic Ponzi Scheme. Among their concerns are the lack of a functional blockchain network, no actual mining, and its multi-level marketing approach for growing the user base. Plus, the Pi coins users accumulate in their wallets are worthless, leaving the Pi Network developers the only people benefiting by making virtually free money when people visit the app.
Plus, regulatory uncertainty and competition from other cryptocurrencies can negatively affect the Pi Network price.
Final Thoughts
While Pi Network price predictions are pure speculation, they shouldn’t prevent you from investing in PI. Since it’s free to mine Pi coins, you will reap profits when it gets listed on major exchanges. Moreover, its limited supply, decentralization, and reputable team make Pi a promising investment once its Mainnet is launched.
In the end, it’s up to investors to consider the risks and make an informed decision whether they want to invest in the Pi Network.
Disclaimer: This article is purely for educational purposes, and nothing in it should be considered a piece of financial advice.
FAQs
How Is Pi Network Different From Other Cryptocurrencies?
Pi network is different from other cryptocurrencies as it employs the Stellar Consensus Protocol, enabling users to get rewarded in return for mining Pi coins from their smartphones.
What Factors Affect the Price of Pi Network Coin?
Pi coin’s potential price depends on such factors as its limited supply, protocol updates, strong development team, and decentralization. It’s user-friendly and free to mine. However, PI is yet an unlisted token that is practically worthless, and there is no historical data on the Pi Network’s performance.
What Are Some Potential Risks and Challenges Facing Pi Network?
The Pi app is free to use, so there is no financial risk. However, regulatory uncertainty, general market trends, and competition from other cryptocurrencies can negatively affect the Pi Network price.
The Pi Network app could possibly collect and sell your data and requires “Know Your Customer” (KYC) verification.
