Buy & Swap Pi (PI)

Consensus built on trust

Pi's official FAQ explains that its consensus algorithm is adapted from the Stellar Consensus Protocol and Federated Byzantine Agreement. Instead of competing on computing power, nodes agree based on trust relationships.

Those relationships come from users' Security Circles, small groups of people each user vouches for. Combined across the network, they form a global trust graph that the consensus relies on. This is why taking part from a phone uses so little energy.^{[1], [2]}

Security Circles and participation

Pi's FAQ on earning more Pi describes how building a Security Circle and a referral team increases a user's mining rate.

In other words, the same actions that strengthen the network's trust graph are the ones that are rewarded, lining up personal incentives with network security.^[3]

From enclosed network to fixed rewards

According to Pi's FAQ, the Mainnet phase with an Enclosed Network began on December 28, 2021, together with a new mining mechanism and a defined supply model.

From March 2022 a gradually declining reward formula replaced the earlier halving steps. The FAQ states that mining rewards are capped within a limit of 65 billion Pi.^{[4], [5]}

A white paper that grew with the project

Pi's white paper was first published on March 14, 2019. In December 2021 new chapters on the token model, mining and the roadmap were added to the original document.

Keeping these additions in one official document makes it easier to follow how the design has changed since launch.^{[6], [7]}

The Open Network

A press release published through Chainwire and quoting Pi Network co-founder Nicolas Kokkalis announced that the Open Network launched on February 20, 2025. It allows Pi's blockchain to connect with outside systems.

That step moved Pi from an enclosed network toward one where Pi can move beyond the app itself.^[8]

Why a phone-first design matters

Proof-of-work mining rewards specialised hardware and cheap electricity, which leaves most people out. Pi's approach asks users to open an app, confirm they are active and vouch for people they know.

That lowers the cost of taking part to almost nothing, and it lets the network grow through personal connections rather than through investment in machines. The declining reward formula and the fixed mining cap then shape how much new Pi reaches those users over time.

The white paper and official FAQ pages record each of these rules, so newcomers can read how the system works before joining.^{[2], [5], [3]}

Trust graphs at very large scale

Security built on personal trust circles depends on those circles being genuine. Pi's public documentation does not set out a formal analysis of how the trust graph resists coordinated groups of accounts vouching for each other at the scale of a large mobile user base.

How robust that is in practice is UNKNOWN from public sources and is not guessed at here.^[1]