What is Pi Network?
Pi Network is a digital currency project that aims to keep crypto mining accessible as the centralisation of the first generation of currencies like Bitcoin has put them out of reach of everyday users. The Pi Network, developed by a team of Stanford graduates, enables users to mine coins using its mobile phone app, validating transactions on a distributed record.
With branding based on the number π, Phase 1 of the project launched in 2019 on Pi Day, March 14, with its free Pi mining app. By June 2019, the network had more than 100,000 active users, and a year later when Phase 2 launched there were more than 3.5 million. The app started running ads in May 2020 to provide a source of financing for the project. The user base reached 14 million in March 2021, having crossed the 12 million mark in February.
Pi Coin is the cryptocurrency that runs on the Pi network, and as with other cryptos such as Bitcoin, PI was designed to undergo regular “halving” to protect its scarcity. Halving is when the number of coins that a miner receives for processing new transactions are reduced by half when a certain milestone is reached.
Pi’s mining rate halved from 1.6 π per hour when it reached 100,000 users, halved again to 0.4 π per hour when it reached 1 million and again to 0.2 π when it reached 10 million. It will continue to halve, reaching zero at 1 billion users.
