Happy first anniversary of Open Network!

To celebrate this milestone, Pi Founders Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis dive deeper into Pi’s strategy, approach, and current work since Open Network—while also providing greater visibility into the direction and priorities guiding Pi’s continued development, including Pi’s ecosystem tokens design on Mainnet, KYC as a service, and AI.

Watch the full video to learn more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYihqhAcMRQ

Read the Open Network anniversary blog for a high level overview on Pi’s strategy, approach, and current work since Open Network!

https://minepi.com/blog/open-network-anniversary/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=on-anniversary

Pi has released specific details on the Ecosystem Token Design on Pi Network as a Pi Request for Comment (PRC) to the community. Learn more about ecosystem token design here, and read the GitHub page for further details. https://minepi.com/blog/open-network-anniversary/#ecosystem-token-design-mainnet

Feedback is welcome, and Pioneers are encouraged to comment, discuss with other community members and share specific suggestions on specific sections of the design using GitHub features like issues or pull requests. For those who do not have a GitHub account, a Google Form is also available to submit high-level feedback.

Since the launch of Open Network, Pi has continued expanding across multiple dimensions of the ecosystem—from KYC and Mainnet migrations to developer activity and overall network participation. These milestones reflect the steady progress made possible through the collective contributions of Pioneers, developers, businesses, and KYC validators around the world.

Check out some of the key ecosystem growth metrics achieved during the past year since Open Network launched!

Why does Pi feel so different from other blockchains? Why does utility matter? Pi Founder Chengdiao Fan explains Pi’s emphasis on utility and how Pi distinguishes itself in the blockchain industry.

Protocol upgrades in progress (Step 2 – Deadline: March 1): The Pi Mainnet blockchain protocol continues to undergo a series of upgrades. All Mainnet nodes are required to complete this step before the deadline to remain connected to the network. Details here: https://minepi.com/pi-node

What is the network working on now?

Pi Founder Nicolas Kokkalis offers an overview on how the network will continue the general work that matters to Pioneers such as KYC and Migration, and to developers such as improving and expanding the tools that enable them to build easier on Pi, and various initiatives that are intended to facilitate more utility on Pi.

What are Pi ecosystem tokens and what is the design thinking for ecosystem tokens on Mainnet?

Pi Founder Chengdiao Fan dives deep into Pi’s unique approach to ecosystem token design — Pi’s focus is not on tokens for their own sake, or on mechanisms and integrations in isolation, but on enabling useful, utility-driven tokens and supporting the real innovation behind them.

Learn more on the specifics of ecosystem token design here. Pioneers are encouraged to comment, discuss with other community members and share specific suggestions on specific sections.
https://github.com/PiNetwork/PiRC

What is the significance of Pi KYC, and what’s next?

Pi Founder Nicolas Kokkalis explores the importance of Pi KYC both internally and for the next stage of this initiative to treat KYC itself as a service—KYC as a platform capability.

Network Update: Protocol v19.9 migration successfully completed. Next up is v20.2 — Aiming to complete before Pi Day 2026. Node operators should make sure they’re upgraded and stay tuned for further instructions: https://minepi.com/pi-node/

Protocol upgrades in progress (Step 3 – Deadline: March 12): The Pi Mainnet blockchain protocol continues to undergo a series of upgrades. All Mainnet Nodes are required to complete this step before the deadline to remain connected to the network. Details here: https://minepi.com/pi-node

Pi released a deep-dive case study into the recent proof-of-concept project for a new Pi Node utility that supports decentralized AI training and computing tasks for third-parties using the spare computing capacity of over 421,000 Pi Nodes. In collaboration with OpenMind, a robotics startup invested in by Pi Network Ventures, this project showed that Pi Nodes can process AI-relevant workloads and return useful results quickly. This work is part of and provides insights for the general initiative to integrate Pi into AI infrastructure itself, utilizing distributed computing and enabling authentic human input for AI training, inference, and reinforcement learning. https://minepi.com/blog/openmind-case-study/

Happy Pi Day 2026, Pi Network’s 7th official anniversary! Today’s releases introduce new ecosystem capabilities and expand how Pioneers can build, participate, and engage with Pi.

New releases include the introduction of the Token Launchpad on Testnet, Node and protocol upgrades, second migrations, KYC validator rewards, new centralized exchange listing, Mainnet payments in Pi App Studio, and a Pi Day Utility Challenge.

Read the blog for full details on each release! https://minepi.com/blog/pi-day-2026/

Celebrate Pi Day 2026 by learning about the new releases and participating in the Utility Challenge in the Pi app home screen https://minepi.com/blog/pi-day-2026/

The initial version of the Pi Launchpad has been released as a Pi App on the Testnet with a test token! Because the Launchpad introduces new concepts for many Pioneers and uses mechanisms that differ from typical token launches in Web3, it is being introduced on Testnet first so the community can become familiar with how the process works before the Mainnet launch.

Read more about the Launchpad in the Pi Day 2026 blog https://minepi.com/blog/pi-day-2026/

The Launchpad implements the mechanism in Design 1 of the PiRC released on the Open Network anniversary: https://github.com/PiNetwork/PiRC

Pi Network is excited to announce that second migrations have started and will continue with a gradual rollout, opening the door for Pioneers to bring additional Pi to Mainnet and further participate in the ecosystem! While second migrations roll out, first migrations for eligible Pioneers will continue as normal.

To be eligible for migrations, Pioneers must set up Pi Wallet two-factor authentication (2FA) through the Mainnet Checklist Step 3. This may include adding a trusted email address to their accounts if not set up yet. 2FA is enforced before migrations to enhance wallet security because transfers on the blockchain are irreversible and immutable.

Second migrations will also include referral mining bonuses attributable to Referral Team members who fully passed KYC. Pioneers should therefore remind their Referral Teams to complete KYC so these bonuses can be migrated.

All major Pi nodes have now been upgraded to version 20.2 and are supporting protocol 20. Pi has also completed the upgrade of its Mainnet blockchain to protocol 20.

Protocol 20 provides the foundation to enable smart contract capabilities, and the rollout of smart contracts will occur gradually, prioritizing categories that align with utility-based product innovation and operations. The specific types of smart contracts featured will depend heavily on the needs arising from the utility creation process.

Read the Pi Day 2026 blog to learn more about protocol 20 and smart contracts https://minepi.com/blog/pi-day-2026/

The Pi Mainnet has successfully upgraded to Protocol 20, laying the foundation for supporting smart contracts. Node operators, please ensure your systems are up to date and stay tuned for instructions regarding the upcoming v21 upgrade.