Pi Network (PI) News Recap: Here’s What Happened in 2024

TL;DR

• Pi Network extended the KYC deadline to January 31, 2025, with 14 million users verified (out of the requested 15 million target).
• Despite the delays and confusion regarding the launch of open mainnet, the project’s app surpassed 100 million downloads. Pi Network has built a particularly solid community base in Asia, with South Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Japan, and more turning into strongholds.

Pi Network’s Developments This Year

The Pi Network community witnessed multiple updates in 2024 as the team seemingly prepares to launch its open mainnet. In September, the controversial cryptocurrency project (which claims to allow people to mine digital assets from their smartphones) celebrated 2,000 days since launch, but its native token and fully-operation blockchain have yet to go live.

And while the developers behind Pi Network keep promising that such significant developments are on the horizon, some community members have started losing patience due to the constant delays. 

Earlier this year, the team claimed that the first huge milestone was the launch of the open network. They said it will become possible once 15 million users pass necessary Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verifications and migrate to the mainnet (known as the Grace Period).

In August, Pi Network announced that over 13 million people had completed authentications, while 6 million had successfully migrated. Earlier this month, the team said KYC verifications had reached 14 million. 

Initially, users had until the end of September to abide by the rules. However, the deadline was extended numerous times and eventually pushed to January 31, 2025. Unsurprisingly, the latest delay annoyed many members of the community, whereas others maintained that they had experienced serious issues when trying to pass KYC procedures. 

It is worth mentioning that Pi Network offered help to those struggling with similar problems, advising them to join a dedicated Telegram chat “where there will be mods to answer your questions.” The team also cautioned that completing verifications is only one part of the whole process. Users must also set up and confirm the wallet, sign the token confirmation agreement, and conduct other checklist steps. 

“These steps can be completed before KYC, no need to wait. Please complete the migration within the grace period, otherwise your Pi may be considered abandoned and unusable,” the team alerted.

Meanwhile, Pi Network users have been waiting for December, when the Pi Core Team was supposed to shed more light on the mainnet open roadmap (which should allow the buying and selling of Pi tokens). However, it seems like there is little chance for the community to witness such an important disclosure before New Year’s Eve.

Pi Network’s Popularity on the Rise

Despite the lack of clear information about the launch of the native token and open mainnet, the frustration coming from the community, and the delays, Pi Network keeps increasing its popularity globally.

As CryptoPotato reported several weeks ago, the project’s application surpassed the major milestone of 100 million downloads. 

Pi Network is particularly popular in Asia, where it has created multi-million communities in countries like China, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Japan, and more.

Not long ago, Wu Blockchain revealed that the number of local Pi Network users in South Korea reached 1.34 million, which exceeds the domestic client base of well-known crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. In fact, the only two domestic cryptocurrency-related entities with more users are Upbit (4.36 million) and Bithumb (2.24 million).

Users Should Stay Vigilant 

The project’s huge popularity could be one reason scammers often attack the community. As such, Pi Network’s team issued two warnings to protect its community. 

First, they urged users to rely only on information shared on official channels. The developers also provided a dedicated safety page showing all the sources and URL links the community can refer to. 

Second, the team cautioned people to use only their Pi Wallets in the designated Pi Browser. “Ensure you’re in the correct Pi Wallet, not any fake one, to safeguard your Pi. The authentic Pi Wallet is also visually identified by a purple color in the navigation bar of the Pi Browser with a Pi logo featuring the Core Team apps logo,” the warning reads.

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