What Is Pi Network? Your Complete Guide to Mobile Mining and Real-World Crypto Use

Pi Network represents a breakthrough in making cryptocurrency accessible to everyone—no expensive mining rigs, no technical expertise required. Just your smartphone and a few taps daily. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Pi's supply model, mining mechanism, ecosystem growth, and how it compares to established platforms for trading and utility.

Understanding Pi Network: Social Crypto Meets Real-World Applications

Pi Network is a social cryptocurrency, developer platform, and ecosystem designed for widespread accessibility and real-world utility. It enables users to mine and transact Pi using a mobile-friendly interface while supporting applications built within its blockchain ecosystem.

Think of it as crypto designed for regular people, not just tech enthusiasts with warehouses full of servers.

Supply Model and Mining Mechanism

The Numbers That Matter

The Maximum Supply of Pi is 100 billion tokens. Here's how it breaks down:

• 65 billion tokens (65%): Community mining rewards

• 10 billion (10%): Foundation reserves

• 5 billion (5%): Liquidity purposes

• 20 billion (20%): Core Team allocation

Each allocation tracks the community Migrated Mining Rewards issuance pace, so the proportions remain constant at any given time.

How Effective Total Supply Works

The Effective Total Supply of Pi—the actual Pi supply right now—allocates tokens proportionally the same as the Maximum Supply. Since every allocation tracks Migrated Mining Rewards, you can calculate the Effective Total Supply by dividing the current Migrated Mining Rewards on the Mainnet blockchain by 65%.

The other allocations follow the same proportions: at most 10% of the Effective Total Supply sits in foundation reserves, 5% for liquidity purposes, and 20% for the Core Team. This remains true even though all tokens were minted at genesis as required by blockchain protocol.

Circulating Supply includes all Migrated Mining Rewards and tokens that entered circulation from other allocation buckets, which at maximum could equal the Effective Total Supply.

The Mining Formula: Declining Rewards Over Time

Pi's mining rewards follow a declining exponential model defined in the Pi whitepaper. Users increase their mining rewards based on individual contributions like Security Circles, using utility-based Pi apps, and running Nodes.

Each month, the amount of Pi distributed as mobile balance is capped and determined by the model, regardless of how many people mine or how many reward types exist. The system achieves this through a system-wide base mining rate, with each reward type serving as a multiplier of this base rate. As monthly supplies diminish, the base mining rate generally decreases over time.

Fewer Pi may be issued because real blockchain issuance depends on Pioneers passing KYC and completing all migration steps to Mainnet. Despite efforts to facilitate and remind Pioneers, dropoffs occur, resulting in less than all outstanding mobile balances being issued on the blockchain. This mechanism means community issued amounts (Migrated Mining Rewards) will likely track closer to a line lower than 65 billion. This explains the variable Effective Total Supply, which incorporates this effect—calculated from all Migrated Mining Rewards divided by 65%, rather than the fixed Maximum Supply of 100 billion.

Ecosystem and Real-World Adoption

Pi Network has built an integrated ecosystem facilitating real-world transactions and decentralized applications. Pi works as a medium of exchange for goods and services, including online commerce and local brick-and-mortar businesses.

Users engage with Core Team and community-built apps through the Pi Browser, where integrated features like the Pi Wallet provide a seamless experience. Events like PiFest 2025 showcased Pi's growing adoption, with over 27,000 active sellers and 28,000 test merchants across 160 countries.

For traders looking to access Pi and other emerging cryptocurrencies with lower fees and robust liquidity, platforms like OKX offer competitive advantages. With comprehensive support for new tokens and advanced trading features, you're positioned to catch opportunities as they emerge.

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Who Are the Founders of Pi Network?

Pi Network was founded by Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan, both holding PhDs from Stanford University with a passion for improving human lives through technology.

Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis is a Stanford PhD in EE and postdoc in CS with research on distributed systems and human-computer interaction. His work combines these fields to bring cryptocurrency to everyday people. As a strong believer in the technical, financial and social potential of cryptocurrencies, he's determined to move them beyond current limitations and bring blockchain power to more people.

Dr. Chengdiao Fan holds a Stanford PhD in Anthropological Sciences, harnessing social computing to unlock human potential globally. Chengdiao is building Pi Network to mobilize individuals worldwide to participate and be rewarded for their contributions, establishing an inclusive ecosystem for global citizens to unleash their own agency and create utilities and productions for society.

Compliance and Identity Verification

Pi Network follows a one-account-per-person policy through its Know Your Customer (KYC) solution. This system combines machine automation and human verification to authenticate user identities while preserving privacy.

The KYC process emphasizes real individuals, combats fraudulent activities and enables fair participation in network mining. Pi's identity verification approach balances scalability, security, and accessibility, allowing millions of users worldwide to validate their accounts while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Trading Pi Network: Where and How

Where Can You Buy Pi Network?

PI tokens can be traded on centralized crypto exchanges. The most popular exchange to buy and trade Pi Network is Gate, where the most active trading pair PI/USDT has a trading volume of $8,320,818.86 in the last 24 hours. Other popular options include OKX and XT.COM.

If you're seeking a trading platform that combines deep liquidity, competitive fees, and access to emerging tokens like Pi, it's worth exploring exchanges that prioritize both newcomers and experienced traders. Lower trading costs directly impact your bottom line, especially for active trading strategies.

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Daily Trading Volume

The trading volume of Pi Network (PI) is $30,786,700.83 in the last 24 hours, representing a -1.00% decrease from one day ago and signaling a recent fall in market activity.

Price Performance Metrics

Pi Network (PI) reached an all-time high of BTC0.00003504 and an all-time low of BTC0.000001586. It's now trading -92.60% below that peak and 27.70% above its lowest price.

Market Capitalization

Market capitalization of Pi Network (PI) is BTC17,963.4385 and is ranked #69 on CoinGecko today. Market cap is measured by multiplying token price with the circulating supply of PI tokens (8.3 billion tokens are tradable on the market today).

Fully Diluted Valuation

The fully diluted valuation (FDV) of Pi Network (PI) is BTC27,636.0592. This statistical representation shows the maximum market cap, assuming the maximum number of 100 billion PI tokens are in circulation today. Depending on PI token emission schedules, it might take multiple years before FDV is realized.

Performance Comparison

With a price decline of -10.90% in the last 7 days, Pi Network (PI) is underperforming the global cryptocurrency market which is down -8.30%, while underperforming when compared to similar Layer 1 (L1) cryptocurrencies which are down -8.00%.

Conclusion

Pi Network has carved out a unique position in crypto—combining mobile accessibility, real-world utility, and a growing global ecosystem. With over 27,000 active sellers and millions of verified users, Pi demonstrates that cryptocurrency can be both accessible and practical. Whether you're mining Pi daily or looking to trade it alongside other cryptocurrencies, choosing the right platform matters for your costs and experience. OKX offers comprehensive support for Pi Network trading with competitive fees and robust liquidity, making it suitable for both newcomers exploring mobile mining projects and experienced traders seeking efficient execution.