Pi Network: Is it just a scam?
“I am sending you 1π! Pi is a new digital currency developed by Stanford PhD's, with over 3.5 million members worldwide……….”
Message of this sorts have been floating around feeds of people for quite long. It might have been quite annoying for some people while others have been dreaming about the future of this thing. But the first thing that comes to our mind is that will it make any real money? Is it legal? Is it safe enough to try? All these questions have been bothering people a lot.
As the time has progressed, the form of money has changed quite a bit. After a lot of evolution we got paper money, which is now turning into digital. Digital currencies focus on decentralizing the currency to make the privacy-oriented transactions. A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger or computerized database using strong cryptography. So is the Pi Network, might be the next big thing in the future?
Pi Coin & Pi Network
Pi Network being the first ever mobile mining cryptocurrency allows user to mine people directly from their smartphone. Although, a lot of cryptocurrencies have been developed through the passage of time, they have been largely inaccessible to a large group of people because -the most direct way to earn -is expensive, requires extensive technical knowledge and consumes so much of energy that it has become a major contributor to CO2 global emission. So, Pi Network might be the next big thing because of its working methodology. The mining is easy, no prior investment required, no high power consumption and mainly being able to mine in a smartphone without no high power consumption and draining battery.
Pi Network is secured and operated by its community, i.e. its users and their joint engagement. It is mined through proof of consensus, which is basically where your phone communicates with a bunch of nodes, and the nodes collectively decide on what the solution to the next block is.
Status of the Pi Coin in 2020
There’s a 3-step deployment plan/road map prepared by the developers:
Phase 1: Pi launch this phase in Pi Day in 2019 i.e 3/14/2019, where the legitimacy of the mining accounts were recorded along with the mining being recorded for guaranteed transaction in Mainnet (Phase3)
Phase 2: Testnet is where Pi is in 2020. Since March 2020, Pi’s Testnet phase started running along with the Beta phase, officially deploying the Node software on March 31st.
Phase 3: Mainnet whose launch is still uncertain,most likely to be launched in Pi Day in 2021 will get its real value in Phase 3. Transfer of the coin and conversion into real value and goods will take place only in Phase 3.
So, whatever we mine today in our smartphone are likely to get value in the 3rd phase. Pi Network is building a peer-to-peer marketplace where members will be able to directly spend Pi to buy goods and services.
How to mine Pi Coin in your smartphone?
Mining Pi coin follows few simple steps.
Download the app from the respective stores:
Create an account using your phone number or Facebook. An invitation code is required to join the network as it runs on security circles. One account can be registered for one person and upon registration you get 1 Pi in your account. As soon as you click on mine, your mining starts at 0.39π/hr. The app doesn’t need to run in the background and you can mine by logging in once in 24 hours. As the app can be closed completely, it doesn’t drain any battery or network.
There are four roles Pi users can play, as Pi miners. Namely:
- Pioneer. A user of the Pi mobile app who is simply confirming that they are not a “robot” on a daily basis. This user validates their presence every time they sign in to the app. They can also open the app to request transactions (e.g. make a payment in Pi to another Pioneer)
- Contributor. A user of the Pi mobile app who is contributing by providing a list of pioneers he or she knows and trusts. In aggregate, Pi contributors will build a global trust graph.
- Ambassador. A user of the Pi mobile app who is introducing other users into Pi network.
- Node. A user who is a pioneer, a contributor using the Pi mobile app, and is also running the Pi node software on their desktop or laptop computer. The Pi node software is the software that runs the core SCP algorithm, taking into account the trust graph information provided by the Contributors.
Access the full white paper by Pi Network by clicking here
Status of Cryptocurrency in Nepal
Is it safe to mine Pi Coin in Nepal?
According to the Nepal Rastra Bank Act and the 2019 Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, Nepal Rastra Bank has officially declared Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as illegal forms of financial tender.
As of now, the cryptocurrencies are not legal in Nepal. But Pi Coin being in testnet phase and not having actual value and trade makes no sense for its illegality. So, most likely it is legal just to mine Pi Coin right now. Recently, talks have been made by Finance Mininster Yuba Raj Khatiwada regarding the legality of cryptocurrency in Nepal. So, in near future we can hope the cryptocurrency will get legal in Nepal as well,when the Pi coin will get into Phase 3 and actual trade and valuation can be made using Pi coin.
Till then, only thing we can do is mine it.
