On February 25th, Pi Network announced the one-year anniversary of its open network launch with a new video message from founder Chengdiao Fan, reaffirming the “practicality-first” development approach. She stated that Pi is different from projects driven by ICOs or short-term speculation, focusing instead on long-term value through mobile mining, real identity verification, and local business applications, with the goal of promoting tangible daily payments and use cases.
Official data shows that approximately 16.2 million users have completed mainnet migration, about 17.7 million have passed KYC verification; the total number of active nodes exceeds 421,000, and over 9 billion Pi tokens have been transferred into mainnet wallets. The ecosystem has launched hundreds of applications, with about 148,000 merchants on the Pi Map e-commerce platform, emphasizing user participation alongside commercial activities rather than solely mining growth.
Fan Chengdiao pointed out that the large KYC user base is key to building a trust layer, which can be expanded into identity infrastructure capabilities like “KYC as a Service.” The team is also working on optimizing the token economic model, integrating AI, and launching a validator reward program, expected later in 2026. She believes that prioritizing real needs is more sustainable than meme coins and price speculation.
Community feedback is mixed. Supporters endorse the “practicality-first” strategy, believing it can improve long-term adoption; however, some users are dissatisfied with the pace of KYC approval, migration progress, and the implementation of decentralization features. Currently, Pi’s price fluctuates between $0.16 and $0.17, with market attention focused on whether ecosystem conversion rates and application activity can support a valuation recovery.
Looking ahead, the team plans to strengthen network utility through node upgrades, ongoing migrations, and ecosystem expansion. If they can convert millions of users into stable daily applications and payment needs, Pi’s mobile-first and KYC-driven approach could develop a competitive edge; otherwise, the tension between delivery pace and market expectations will continue to test community patience.
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