1 month ago
Key takeaways
Pi coin yet went unrecorded connected unfastened mainnet successful February 2025, unlocking real-world usage cases aft years successful closed beta.
You tin walk Pi coin, but mostly wrong P2P communities and KYC-verified Pi apps — mainstream adoption is inactive successful its aboriginal stages.
Pi is present tradable connected respective CEXs, specified arsenic OKX, Bitget and MEXC, but Binance inactive hasn’t listed it contempt 2 million+ idiosyncratic voters lobbying for the listing.
Merchant adoption is increasing slowly, with existent goods and services being exchanged for Pi successful localized markets and app-based ecosystems.
Often described arsenic a crypto for the people, Pi is simply a decentralized task that runs without the request for GPUs oregon state fees. But 5 years since its closed mainnet motorboat successful 2021, the million-dollar question inactive hangs successful the air: Can you really bargain thing with Pi coin successful 2025?
Let’s dive into the Pi Network’s real-world usability and reply what each Pi miner and funny crypto perceiver is wondering: Does Pi coin enactment successful existent life, oregon is it inactive conscionable theoretical integer dust?
What is Pi coin, and what’s driving the attraction astir it successful 2025?
Launched successful March 2019 by a trio of Stanford Ph.D.s — Nicolas Kokkalis, Chengdiao Fan and Vincent McPhillip — the Pi Network acceptable retired to lick 1 of crypto’s halfway problems: accessibility.
Unlike Bitcoin oregon Ethereum, which necessitate specialized hardware to mine, Pi coin was designed to beryllium mined straight from a smartphone, without draining artillery oregon data. The idea? Democratize crypto from the thenar of your hand.
The Pi Network rapidly went viral, spreading done invitation-only mining that created a consciousness of exclusivity and societal virality. By 2021, the app had surpassed 20 cardinal engaged users, oregon “Pioneers,” and by precocious 2023, that fig had reportedly deed 47 million, making it 1 of the largest pre-mainnet crypto communities successful the world.
Here’s a speedy timeline of cardinal moments:
March 2019: The Pi Network launches a beta mentation of its app connected Android and iOS.
2020–2021: User maturation accelerates done referrals; Pi phases determination toward testnet.
December 2021: Closed mainnet goes live; Pi transactions stay wrong the ecosystem.
2022–2024: Over 100 Pi apps are built for investigating successful the closed economy.
February 2025: Pi Network officially launches its unfastened mainnet, enabling blockchain enactment with the extracurricular world.
This long-awaited mainnet determination opened the doors for Pi (PI) coin to beryllium listed connected centralized exchanges (CEXs) and utilized extracurricular its sandbox — yet bringing the task person to its extremity of becoming a existent integer currency for mundane use.
From an ambitious pupil task to 1 of the astir downloaded crypto apps ever, Pi Network’s travel has been thing but ordinary. But present that the tech is unrecorded and tradable, the large question is: Can you really usage Pi coin to bargain things?
Did you know? Over 2 cardinal users voted for Binance to database Pi coin — and yet, Binance has remained wholly silent. Despite Pi Network boasting 47 cardinal users and a afloat launched mainnet, the world’s biggest speech hasn’t budged. Why? Some accidental it’s a deficiency of decentralization. Others constituent to the controlled KYC rollout. Either way, it’s a reminder that successful crypto, adjacent a viral service can’t unit the gatekeepers to unfastened the doors.
Where tin you bargain Pi coin successful 2025?
Following the motorboat of Pi Network’s unfastened mainnet successful February 2025, Pi coin has go disposable for trading connected respective cryptocurrency exchanges. As of April 2025, Pi coin is listed connected the pursuing exchanges:
OKX: One of the archetypal to database PI, offering trading pairs specified arsenic PI/USDT.
Bitget: Provides PI trading with liquidity and user-friendly interfaces.
MEXC: Another aboriginal adopter, supporting PI trading pairs.
BitMart: Supports PI trading, though immoderate listings whitethorn beryllium IOUs.
HTX (formerly Huobi): Has listed PI, though it’s based connected IOU listings.
Despite assemblage efforts, including implicit 2 cardinal votes successful favor, Binance has not listed Pi coin arsenic of April 2025. Concerns implicit blockchain compatibility, transparency and regulatory issues person been touted arsenic reasons for the hesitation.
Did you know? Many Pi coin listings connected exchanges are really IOUs, which is not the existent deal. These “I Owe You” tokens are speculative placeholders that aren’t backed by mainnet Pi, meaning you can’t retreat oregon usage them wrong the Pi Network ecosystem. It’s similar trading a movie summons for a movie that hasn’t adjacent premiered yet. Always cheque whether you’re buying the existent PI token oregon conscionable a promise.
What tin you really bargain with Pi coin?
Here’s wherever things get existent (or not truthful real). While you mightiness not beryllium buying a Tesla with Pi (yet), the Pi assemblage has been documenting purchases specified as:
T-shirts, mugs and telephone accessories
Freelance graphic plan services
Basic electronics and gadgets
Food, drinks and tiny edifice meals (in localized Pi events)
Handmade crafts and collectibles.
The catch? Most of these transactions hap via societal media groups, Telegram chats oregon Pi’s ain ecosystem apps specified arsenic Pi Browser and Pi Chat. These platforms enactment arsenic informal marketplaces, often relying connected spot and estimation alternatively than ceremonial escrow systems.
So, portion Pi isn’t rather acceptable for premier clip successful large retail environments, it is functioning — successful a grassroots, community-driven way. Think of it much arsenic a barter strategy with crypto flair than a afloat integrated outgo network. For now, astatine least.
Pi Network merchant database — information oregon fiction?
If you hunt “Pi coin accepted stores” connected Google, hoping for a database of your favourite retailers, you’ll beryllium disappointed.
There is nary authoritative Pi Network merchant database that guarantees wherever Pi is accepted. Instead, adoption is grassroots and highly localized. One radical of Pi Pioneers successful Indonesia mightiness beryllium capable to bargain nutrient with Pi, portion different successful Vietnam uses it for mobile information top-ups. But it’s hard to track, standardize oregon verify.
Merchant adoption is inactive aboriginal — but gaining traction.
Now that Pi Network’s unfastened mainnet is live, the speech is nary longer astir “if” Pi volition integrate with the broader crypto ecosystem — it’s astir however accelerated it tin onboard existent merchants and usage cases.
One promising inclination is the emergence of Know Your Customer (KYC)-verified Pi apps, platforms that necessitate users and businesses to implicit individuality verification earlier participating successful the Pi economy. This furniture of spot helps Pi Network physique a much morganatic commercialized environment, wherever merchants consciousness much assured accepting Pi coin arsenic payment.
In the months pursuing the unfastened mainnet launch, Pi Network’s developers and assemblage person focused connected scaling real-world integrations, which include:
Local businesses successful countries specified arsenic Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines judge Pi for goods and services.
Pi Chain Mall and different marketplaces are enabling integer commerce successful Pi.
Third-party integrations are being tested to link Pi with decentralized concern (DeFi) protocols, crosschain bridges and non-fungible token (NFT) platforms.
Pi Browser and Pi Apps let decentralized exertion (DApp) developers to motorboat caller payment-enabled services utilizing mainnet Pi.
With implicit 100 Pi apps already built during the testnet signifier — and a planetary service of KYC-verified users — Pi Network present has the tools to turn a real, scalable economy. Whether that turns into a bustling merchant web oregon a niche outgo furniture depends connected what the assemblage builds next.
With that said, there’s increasing involvement successful onboarding merchants done KYC-verified Pi apps, hinting astatine a dilatory but perchance scalable adoption model.
Now with the unfastened mainnet live, Pi is besides expected to motorboat integrated DeFi protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and NFT marketplaces. If these integrations succeed, superior usage cases beyond the Pi bubble could beryllium unlocked.
Did you know? During PiFest 2025, implicit 1.8 cardinal users engaged successful transactions utilizing Pi coin crossed 58,000 progressive merchants worldwide. This lawsuit showcased Pi Network’s increasing real-world adoption and its imaginable to facilitate mundane commerce.
Is Pi coin acceptable for real-world payments?
Let’s beryllium honest: Pi coin isn’t a Visa slayer astatine the moment. It’s not acceptable to powerfulness planetary commerce oregon adjacent vie with Bitcoin successful El Salvador. However, it serves arsenic a testbed for what crypto payments mightiness look similar erstwhile driven by assemblage spot alternatively than organization backing.
Think of it little similar a cosmopolitan outgo instrumentality and much similar a section barter strategy connected crypto steroids.
If the Pi Network nails its unfastened mainnet rollout and expands merchant onboarding with existent compliance and liquidity support, 2025 could people the infinitesimal Pi goes from playful experimentation to existent contender.
Final verdict: Can you bargain worldly with Pi coin?
Yes — but with limitations.
You can walk Pi coin, but lone successful prime peer-to-peer (P2P) markets, community-driven stores oregon aviator programs tally by Pi Pioneers. Most of it is inactive happening successful closed circuits, with nary large-scale merchant integration yet.
But is that truly a problem?
Maybe not. After all, the early days of Bitcoin weren’t overmuch different — experimental, niche and often dismissed.
Back then, buying a pizza with Bitcoin (BTC) was groundbreaking. Now, BTC sits successful exchange-traded money (ETF) portfolios and corporate treasuries.
Whether Pi Network breaks done oregon fades into obscurity depends connected what happens next: regulatory clarity and whether the web tin standard beyond its interior community.
Believer oregon skeptic, 1 thing’s certain: The real-world trial of the Pi Network system is conscionable getting started — and the satellite is watching.
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