On February 20, 2025, Pi Network officially removed its mainnet firewall, marking the end of the "closed mainnet" phase that began in December 2021 and lasted for over three years. On this day, PI tokens became freely transferable to external wallets and exchanges for the first time, with the price briefly reaching an all-time high of $2.99.
However, launching the open mainnet was never the finish line—it was just the beginning. As of July 21, 2026, according to Gate market data, Pi Network (PI) is trading at $0.08764, with a market cap of approximately $958 million, 24-hour trading volume of $37.45 million, and a total supply of 16.833 billion tokens. In the past 24 hours, PI fell 11.91%, rose 27.24% over the past 7 days, dropped 26.90% in the last 30 days, and is down 77.91% over the past year. The market sentiment rating is "neutral."
Beyond price narratives, the real question is: One year after opening the mainnet, how far has Pi Network’s ecosystem actually progressed? This article will systematically analyze Pi Network’s development logic and structural challenges from three perspectives: user growth, network openness, and application ecosystem development.
From Closed to Open: Key Milestones in Mainnet Firewall Removal
Pi Network’s mainnet journey can be divided into two distinct phases. In December 2021, Pi launched its "closed mainnet"—a blockchain running behind a firewall. Users who completed KYC verification could migrate their mined PI to mainnet wallets, but these wallets were unable to connect to external exchanges or wallets. The core team set three conditions for opening up: achieving a sufficient KYC completion rate among users, reaching a certain level of ecosystem application maturity, and favorable external market conditions.
By February 2025, the Pi Network team determined that these conditions had largely been met. At 8:00 UTC on February 20, Pi Network officially enabled external connectivity, allowing PI tokens to be freely transferred out of Pi wallets. On the same day, major exchanges including Gate listed PI trading pairs. This milestone marked Pi Network’s transition from an "internal closed-loop" digital currency experiment to a publicly traded crypto asset.
By 2026, Pi Network had entered its second year of open mainnet operation. On the first anniversary in February 2026, the core team outlined its strategic focus for the year: ecosystem token frameworks, KYC as a Service, and AI tool integration. The project’s roadmap has shifted from "mainnet launch" to "ecosystem implementation" and "compliance infrastructure."
User Base: Scale Advantage and Conversion Efficiency
Pi Network’s most distinctive feature remains its user scale. As of April 2026, over 18.1 million users have completed KYC verification, with more than 16.72 million users migrating to the mainnet. Global registered users exceed 70 million, spanning over 200 countries and regions. There are approximately 16.5 million active mainnet wallets. The network reports around 421,000 active nodes.
Looking at growth trends, a technical update in January 2026 lifted migration restrictions for nearly 2.5 million previously blocked pioneers. In April 2026 alone, over 100,000 new users completed KYC, and more than 30,000 new users migrated to the mainnet. These figures indicate that the KYC and mainnet migration funnel remains active.
Yet, beneath the impressive user numbers lie structural concerns. There is a significant gap between registered users (over 70 million) and KYC-verified users (18.1 million)—meaning more than 50 million registered users have yet to complete identity verification. Additionally, about 1.4 million users who have completed KYC still haven’t migrated to the mainnet. The core team has repeatedly warned that early users who fail to complete KYC by the deadline risk losing their mining balances. While this mechanism may boost verification rates, it could also trigger user attrition.
On the token distribution side, on-chain data platform PIScan reports that fewer than 10,000 accounts hold more than 1 million PI, with only 21 accounts holding over 10 million PI. Meanwhile, about 80% of pioneer users hold less than 10 PI. Over 900 million PI mining rewards have been transferred to mainnet wallets. This distribution means that despite a vast user base, token holdings are highly concentrated—a challenge for the network’s decentralization narrative. If a large number of holders sell in the open market, it could exert significant downward pressure on price.
Ecosystem Applications: From Internal Tools to Infrastructure Services
Ecosystem applications are the core channel for Pi Network to convert "user scale" into "on-chain value." As of February 2026, there are over 300 mainnet applications, spanning business, utility, and community tools. Other data shows that Pi Network App Studio has attracted around 470 DApps. The 2025 Pi Hackathon series drew over 10,000 developer submissions, with winning projects including the decentralized freelance marketplace PiWork, a micro-lending platform, and an agricultural supply chain tracking tool.
June 28, 2026’s Pi2Day marked a strategic turning point for the ecosystem. On this day, the official team released three core products:
PiVerify is a KYC and identity verification service open to external enterprises. The underlying infrastructure has already verified over 18 million users. Third-party clients must pay fees in PI to use PiVerify. This model transforms Pi’s KYC infrastructure into a commercial service that generates on-chain demand.
SoloHost is an open, permissionless framework running on Pi Desktop, allowing developers to build and deploy self-hosted applications. The network currently boasts over 421,000 computer nodes operated by pioneers. Third-party clients can pay node operators in PI for computing resources. The first production-grade application, Hermes, is a locally run open-source AI agent.
Pi Sign-in enables third-party websites and apps to integrate Pi accounts as a login option, extending Pi’s verified digital identity layer to the broader internet.
The common thread among these products: Pi Network is no longer just a "mobile mining app," but is positioning itself as a Web3 infrastructure layer providing identity verification, distributed computing, and unified login services.
On the tokenomics front, Pi Network plans to support application-specific tokens running in parallel with PI. The new framework requires tokens to be tied to actual product use, with projects only eligible to issue tokens after delivering usable applications. All PI obtained through token sales must be injected into liquidity pools. The framework also includes automated market maker features and decentralized trading tools.
Technical Upgrades and Network Expansion
The 2026 technical roadmap shows Pi Network’s infrastructure is still rapidly evolving. The V22.1 phase focused on improving node performance. Protocol V23.0 officially launched from May 11 to 18, 2026, aiming to boost transaction throughput (targeting over 5,000 TPS) and enhance smart contract capabilities.
The upcoming Protocol v25 upgrade is scheduled for July 22, 2026. This upgrade will introduce BN254 cryptography and Poseidon hashing, enabling zero-knowledge proof support for Pi Network. The most direct application is privacy-preserving identity verification—confirming a user has passed KYC without revealing actual personal information. This feature will significantly increase the value of PiVerify for external enterprises needing identity confirmation without retaining original personal data. The upgrade also includes network stability improvements, laying the groundwork for future node capacity expansion and a decentralized exchange ecosystem.
From a technical evolution standpoint, Pi Network is moving from "functional" to "user-friendly"—activating smart contracts, preparing DEX tools, and introducing zero-knowledge proofs are paving the way for more complex on-chain applications.
Market Performance and Supply-Demand Pressures
As of July 21, 2026, Pi Network (PI) is priced at $0.08764, with a market cap of about $958 million, 24-hour trading volume of $37.45 million, and a total supply of 16.833 billion tokens.
In terms of price action, PI reached an all-time high of $2.99 following the open mainnet launch in February 2025. It then entered a prolonged decline, hitting a record low of $0.1025 on July 8, 2026. The current price of $0.08764 represents an approximate 97% drop from its peak.
On the supply side, over 775.8 million PI are scheduled to unlock between July and December 2026. This ongoing supply release creates structural pressure on the market price. In July alone, 103.7 million tokens have already been unlocked. Meanwhile, PI IOU products on some exchanges have historically traded in a wide range from below $20 to over $70, with the core team clearly warning that IOU prices carry significant counterparty risk.
Market sentiment is rated "neutral," but technical indicators show PI has entered deeply oversold territory at recent lows. The upcoming Protocol v25 upgrade and real-world adoption of the Pi2Day product suite will be key variables influencing short-term price direction.
Conclusion
On February 20, 2025, Pi Network completed its transition from a closed to an open mainnet, signaling its official entry into the public crypto asset market with over 70 million registered users. One year later, the core question has shifted from "Can the mainnet open?" to "What can be achieved after opening?"
From a user base perspective, over 18.1 million KYC-verified users and more than 16.72 million mainnet-migrated users represent its most solid assets. From an ecosystem standpoint, 300 to 470 DApps, three foundational products released on Pi2Day, and the upcoming Protocol v25 zero-knowledge proof upgrade collectively chart a path from "mining app" to "Web3 infrastructure provider." From a market perspective, the price’s decline from a $2.99 all-time high to the $0.08 range reflects a market reassessment of its long-term value.
Yet, the challenges are real. The conversion gap of over 50 million between registered and KYC users, ongoing token unlock pressure, highly concentrated token holdings, and the actual adoption of ecosystem applications post-mainnet opening are all critical variables affecting Pi Network’s long-term value. The ultimate outcome for Pi Network will depend on whether it can leverage its large community while transforming infrastructure products like PiVerify, SoloHost, and Pi Sign-in into sustainable on-chain economic activity—this is not just a technical challenge, but a long-term question of execution, adoption, and time.
FAQ
Q1: What stage is Pi Network currently in?
Pi Network officially entered the open mainnet phase on February 20, 2025. The prior closed mainnet phase, which began in December 2021, has ended. The project is now in its second year of open mainnet operation, with core planning shifting from "mainnet launch" to "ecosystem implementation" and "compliance infrastructure."
Q2: How many users does Pi Network have?
As of April 2026, Pi Network has over 70 million registered users worldwide, more than 18.1 million KYC-verified users, and over 16.72 million mainnet-migrated users. There are about 16.5 million active mainnet wallets and approximately 421,000 active nodes.
Q3: How many DApps are in the Pi Network ecosystem?
According to various sources, there are between 300 and 470 DApps running in the Pi ecosystem. These applications cover e-commerce, social platforms, gaming, decentralized finance, and more. The 2025 Pi Hackathon series attracted over 10,000 developer submissions.
Q4: What recent major updates has Pi Network launched?
On June 28, 2026 (Pi2Day), Pi Network released three core products: PiVerify (KYC identity verification service), SoloHost (distributed computing framework), and Pi Sign-in (unified login system). Protocol v25 is scheduled to launch on July 22, 2026, introducing BN254 cryptography and Poseidon hashing to support zero-knowledge proof applications.
Q5: How has Pi Network performed price-wise?
As of July 21, 2026, Pi Network (PI) is priced at $0.08764, with a market cap of about $958 million. After reaching an all-time high of $2.99 following the open mainnet launch in February 2025, PI fell to a low of $0.1025 on July 8, 2026. It has dropped 77.91% over the past year. More than 775.8 million PI are scheduled to unlock in the second half of 2026, creating ongoing supply pressure on the price.
