Max Wong @ IOSG Ventures - May 2025

Overview

Founded in March 2019, Pi Network is a project with the aim of making cryptocurrency accessible. Distribution to consumers is done through a light “tap-to-mine” mobile app; the network claims that it has 60 million registered users, about 14-19 million of whom have completed KYC and migrated balances to the chain.

After three years in beta, Pi pushed production to Open Mainnet in Feb 2025, allowing wallet transfers and external connectivity and basic apps to be built. A full EVM layer rollout is roadmapped for H2 2025. Currently, they are running a permissioned validator set based on a Stellar-style consensus algorithm.

Due to their incentive model, they heavily target third-world and SEA countries; essentially, individuals with lower-class income to distribute. Funnel flow appears to be:

Token Utility + Apps

Important to note here that Pi essentially has two segments. Traditional web2 offchain apps + their EVM upcoming chain/eco…? Not really an eco at this point, they haven’t filled rolled out their EVM yet. However, for their web2 segment, most of their rev gen opportunities come from allowing third-party access to users e.g ads, data etc

Key Apps (Mostly Web2 Offerings)

• Pi Network Mining App - Main onboarding hub where users tap once daily to mine PI, chat, complete referrals, and initiate KYC
• Pi Browser + Wallet - Dedicated mobile browser that runs Pi mini dApps and ships the non-custodial Pi Wallet for sending/receiving PI and paying the 0.01 PI transaction fee.
• Pi Ad Network – In-ecosystem ad exchange where developers/advertisers lock PI to buy impressions on other ecosystem apps; 30 % of spend is burned, the rest paid to app publishers.
• Pi Node (desktop client) – Windows/macOS software that lets power users run full or consensus nodes; slated to support public validator staking once permissionless.