Pi Network Completes Full Mainnet Upgrade

The transition to an Open Network on February 20, 2025, marked a pivotal moment, finally allowing external connectivity to the Pi blockchain. This move came after an extended "Enclosed Network" period that began in December 2021, during which the mainnet was live but firewalled from other networks to focus on user migration and app development. Founded in 2019 by Stanford graduates Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, the project has amassed a massive user base through its mobile-first mining approach. Prior to the open mainnet, the team set ambitious goals, including migrating 10 million users and having 100 real apps on the mainnet. Recent figures indicate significant progress towards these goals, with reports of over 16 million users having migrated to the mainnet. Furthermore, community trackers estimate that the total Pi on mainnet wallets has surpassed 9 billion, with a daily mapping rate of around 50 million coins to verified users. The project's strategy has centered on mass identity verification through a native KYC solution to ensure a large, verified user base before opening up. Recent technical updates have unblocked millions of users for mainnet migration and introduced AI to speed up the KYC process. With the Open Network now live, Pi tokens can theoretically be traded on exchanges and used in a broader ecosystem. The ecosystem reportedly includes over 300 applications, ranging from games and e-commerce to finance and social media, accessible through the Pi Browser. Despite the mainnet launch, the project faces challenges, including concerns about token inflation and centralization, with a large portion of the 100 billion max supply held by the foundation. On-chain data also points to a high concentration of tokens among top wallet addresses, which could create market vulnerability.