Everything You Need to Know About the PI Network Controversy
January 10, 2023
Pi Network has been drawing a lot of attention from exchanges and investors due to its large community of millions of users.
The unofficial listing of Pi coins has prompted Pi Network, a smartphone-based blockchain mining project, to clarify once more that the coins are not yet available for trading.
In March 2019, Pi Network, which has been operating since 2018, released its Pi coin for mining by its “Pioneers” community. After Pi Network makes the transition to Open Mainnet, these assets can be traded.
Pi network disclaimer
It is “technically impossible” for the network to interact with any third party at this time because it is currently in the Enclosed Mainnet state.
On December 29, the blockchain project issued a similar disclaimer, stating that it was aware of reports that several unauthorized exchanges sought to list Pi or other products allegedly representing the native cryptocurrency.
“It is important to reiterate that Pi is currently in the Enclosed Network and is not approved by Pi Network for listing on any exchange or for trading, and Pi Network was not involved with any of these purported postings or listings,” the December 29 announcement said.
Why all the fuss?
Pi Network is planning to upgrade to Open Mainnet. According to the company, there are about 35 million members who have been mining Pi coins using its smartphone-based blockchain mining app. In order to onboard its members to the upgraded network where they can trade their Pi coins, it is currently processing their KYC.
Recently, Pi Network members and influencers have been aggressively promoting the upcoming Open Mainnet on social media, which has attracted a lot of interest from both investors and crypto exchanges. The network announced on November 15 that it had surpassed two million Twitter followers, a sign of its rising fame.
However, officially, neither listing nor buying of Pi coins is permitted. To mine them, interested parties must sign up for the network.
Unauthorized listing
The project team reiterated in its statement from January 6 that in its Enclosed Mainnet state, the network is protected by a firewall and that no exchange or third party is permitted to interact with it without authorization, which was not the case.
“… 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,” it added.
Some exchanges’ unauthorized listing of purported Pi coins follows news that Alameda Research frontran tokens before their exchange listings.
