💻DATE : 21st January, 2023
🕒 TIME : 4:00 PM UTC
🏠 VENUE : @thecryptostalkers

🗣: Guest
👨‍💻: Kris Kozma
🎖: Pi Moderator

INTRODUCTION:

Navi:
1: Can you introduce yourself to the community and the story behind creating “PI Network”?

Kozii π:
My name is Kris Kozma, the Pioneer community know me as Kozii, as that is my Pi username in Pi Network. I have been the longest standing Hungarian moderator in the Pi app, in the Hungarian chatroom. I have first stepped into the cryptocurrency scene in 2017. Since then, I have traded many cryptocurrencies, mined Ethereum, ran masternodes and contributed to different projects.

However, in June 2019, things have changed for me: I found out about Pi Network on a business forum. Just like most people, I was also confused, so I downloaded the free app from the Play Store on my mobile phone, then started mining. After a few days, I’ve read through the FAQ and whitepaper itself, which opened my eyes to the possibilities of the project. Ever since that moment, I’ve been captivated, and even though there are over 40000 cryptocurrencies out there, Pi has stuck with me since then and I share the grand vision that Pi Network is all about.

The story behind Pi Network goes like this: a couple of Stanford graduates combined their passion and expertise to create a new cryptocurrency, that solves the biggest problems with Bitcoin — not an uncommon story, right? Dr. Nikolas Kokkalis, one of the founders, was also the professor of Decentralized Applications class at Stanford University, who wrote his thesis paper on Distributed Ledger Technologies BEFORE Bitcoin was even a thing.

Back to the point, that Pi is unique, however, because Pi Network does indeed solve the biggest problem of Bitcoin which is accessibility. In order to mine Bitcoin, you need tens of thousands of dollars worth of mining equipment, with a chunky monthly electricity bill alongside to keep the operation going — to even stand a chance at earning Bitcoin.

On top of that, you need technical knowledge too.

So, for those reasons, most people can’t participate in Bitcoin mining. Their only option is to buy Bitcoin.

Navi:
2: What’s your slogan in Crypto mining Industry? How mining actually woks?

Kozii π:
“The first digital currency you can mine on your phone.” is the official slogan of Pi Network. In the Hungarian Pioneer community, I just say, “If you got a phone, you can earn Pi.”

Just so everybody is very clear: before 2009, if you asked any person on planet earth what mining was, the answer would relate to a pickaxe and someone digging away for some precious metal such as gold or silver.

Bitcoin changed this by introducing the Proof of Work consensus algorithm, where people can set up a node and use computational power from their hardware to solve complex, mathematical puzzles, and if they successfully do that, they get rewarded with Bitcoin.

What needs to be said here is that PoW is undoubtedly proven itself over the years, but due to competition as in that everybody wants to mine and earn bitocin, it has simply become unfeasible for the common man.

Pi Network, on the other hand, uses a delegated proof of stake algorithm, that derives from Stellar (XLM), which derives from Ripple (XRP) — both are established and been proven to work for over decade. Pi builds on top of the Stellar Consensous Protocol and also uses Federated Byzantine Agreeements for reaching consensous.

Essentially, this algorithm is so lightweight, that anyone can set up a node on their computer to support the Pi blockchain, but most importantly, anyone with a mobile phone can download the app and start earning Pi.

This is because individuals and nodes contribute to the consensus algorithm, in which return they receive Pi as reward on the Pi protocol. When Pioneers mine Pi, they contribute to a trust graph, which is information for the nodes (that are running on computers) to reach consensous.

So, since 2019, we now have a new way of crypto mining for the everyday man and that is by utilizing our already existing resources such as social contacts and computers. It’s a quick, easy and simple way for anyone to get started in crypto.

It’s not gold mining, it’s not bitcoin mining, it’s Pi mining.

Navi:

Can we mine without internet?

Kozii π:
Not without internet, no. YOu need interenet to START the mining session.

After that, you’re good to go — you can close the app, no problem. But you need interenet to start.

Navi:
3: In simple words please explain how we can get started with mining PI? Also how we can cash out or exchange PI?

Kozii π:
All you have to do is search “ Pi “ on the Play Store / App Store and download it for free. You simply register an account. You can enter without a registration code, but if you use an existing pioneer’s username — like “ kozii “ , or whoever else invited you — when registering, you both earn 25% more when are actively mining.

We are currently in the enclosed mainnet phase of the project. Basically, we have had the Pi Testnet running for 3 years, the Pi mainnnet running for over a year, but this is a strategic decision by the Core team to focus on building utilities for the Pi ecosystem before we launch on the market. Right now, you can buy and sell products for Pi only, that is the only way, but once open mainnet has launched, then there will be no limits.

How I look at it is that until everything is certain, there is more risk, but we get rewarded much more Pi in exchange. Once Pi becomes established and proven, the rewards go down as there are will be way more users.

Navi:

Yeah there is plethora of people wants to sell it so yeah demand will be low on launch. Isn’t it?

Kozii π:
The Pi Core Team tries to get rid of bad actors whenever possible

and i think if somebody wanted to do illegal activities, they need to look elsewhere — seriously haha
It’s not as one sided as some may think

Navi:

Imagine paper hands selling Pi to whales 🫡

Kozii π:
people will sell sure, but open market is the only point for any investor to invest too.
there is no ICO, no VCs throwing millions and corrupting Pi.
People will buy YOUR pi that you earned for free.
it’s the only way
ground 0 is where we at haha

Same as e.g. with Ethereum, you could mine Eth a lot quicker than e.g. 2 years ago, right?

Navi:

4: Please tell us about $PI utility and usecase, also how to send mined PI tokens to Houbi and Bitmart?

Kozii π:
Before the usecases part, please be aware: Pi cannot be traded on any exchanges. You cannot send Pi there, they all have deposits disabled. Pi Core Team has a firewall that prevents the Pi blockchain to be connected to outside sources, so technically, nobody can list Pi on exchanges right now. Pi can be listed at the open mainnet phase, which is the next stage of the project.

What these exchanges have done, like Huobi or Bitmart and such, is list Pi IOUs which stands for “ I Owe You “. Literally nobody asked for this, but they can do whatever they want… I wrote a thread on this, feel free to read it after the AMA. https://twitter.com/Kozii9/status/1608912421258657792

Usecases: Pi is accessible for everyone — I want to emphasize this before anything else. In crypto there are many cool things such as: NFTs, metaverses, play to earn, yield farming, DeFi and so on… but how useful is that for your friends, family or your neighbourhood? We all know that 95% of current technologies are simply NA — as in Not Applicable for most people. If that was not true, we would have billions of people using crypto.

Pi innovates by allowing anyone with a smartphone to get involved in the crypto mining scene, to step inside and be part of a new blockchain on a protocol level, be rewarded for their efforts in Pi. The more you do for Pi Network, the more you rewarded in Pi. It’s a whole new web 3.0 experience and arguably the largest one in the crypto scene.

One usecase is for any developers that is reading this: we have over 35 million users, so if you integrate Pi payment to your app, you’re gonna get a lot of traffic. The Pi Core Team is building the developer sandbox and toolkits to allow app developers to easily be able to integrate Pi as payment. There is currently a Pi Hackathon taking place as we speak, where over 2500 teams are building on the Pi blockchain.

What we’re trying to do is make it as easy as possible for existing apps as well to use Pi, not just new apps. So whatever apps you have on your phone right now, chances are, there is already a similar one in the works that will run on the Pi blockchain, where you pay in Pi. Because we have many users, our apps will get traction, which will attract more developers. There is of course a smart contract platform like Soroban on Stellar, which can be utilized later to create tokens on the Pi blockchain, just like there are countless tokens on Ethereum.

So usecases for any Pi holders or anyone wanting to earn Pi or potentially invest in Pi later: you are literally before ground 0 of launching a Layer 1 blockchain with 35M users. You either start mining now, or you can buy later from the market — there is no other way for anyone to get a slice of the Pi. Just imagine any of your favourite layer 1 blockchains — NEAR, SOL, AVAX, APT, ADA… what if they had 35 million users?

Navi:

Wow, why don’t Pi Core team takes legal notice to these exchanges?

Kozii π:

Yeahhh and imagine if you went to piooneer supported places… so you only spend your Pi 🙂

but there’s no legal way of enforcing a foreign crypto exchange to do anything

unless of course you’re the SEC or DOJ or something like that

They have the upper hand, it’s crypto, they are just facilitating supply to the existing demand.

Navi:

So they can list whatever they want. Just in simple words asking a Question, Does that Pi Token that is being traded on these exchange is same as the one we’re mining? I mean same CA?

Kozii π:

What they listed is nothing more than thin air.

There is no real pi on those exchanges

It’s basically a promise from them saying “you trade pi now, you can redeem 1:1 for real Pi later”

you cannot deposit Pi to these exchanges either

plus you cant withdraw those pi IOUs

But they care about profits more than anything.

I attented a Pi twitter space the other deay

and there was a Huobi Researcher

so naturally we wanted to know why they listed Pi

in essence “because there is demand”

funny, cos he didn’t say it was Pi IOU or anything

but you CANNOT deposit or withdraw Pi — so that’s your cue there

it’s a bit of a mess, no doubt.

Navi:

5: Can you tell us about your roadmap and what are your achievements uptil now? Also when PI actually gets listed won’t it be dumped to 0?

Kozii π:
Sure, so since 2019, we come a long way. The app was launched in beta, with 0 users and since then a lot has happened. We grew to 35 million users. The app itself is the main entry point to the Pi ecosystem, people can chat with other on the app.

As mentioned previously, we have been running the Pi testnet for 3 years and the mainnet is operational for over a year.

We also got the Pi Browser, which provides a web experience into a decentralized world. In addition to supporting any Web2.0 applications just like existing web browsers, Pi Browser enables people to browse, interact and transact in decentralized applications — applications that integrate with blockchain technology — with seamless and friendly user experience.

There is a Pi KYC solution created by the Pi Core Team, which serves as a filter to get rid of bad actors and cheaters of the system — this is the way to ensure 1 person has only one account and doesn’t cheat. People pay 1 Pi for the KYC check.

Additionally, we just started seeing Pi dApps appear, like PiNews, PiChainMall, PiToGo, PiScrow, all those provide different utilities to users like a publishing platform for pioneers, web shopping experience in exchange for Pi, travels paid for using Pi or escrow services to facilitate safer transactions using Pi — there’s many many more but most are in the works still, being developed daily.

Furthermoe about the dumps… there is a lockup feature in the Pi app. Users can lock up a portion of their Pi between 2 weeks and 3 years for a mining rate boost. The longer you lock, the bigger the boost of your mining rate.

It’s Pi Network’s way of “staking” and if you’re curious to see how effective it is, I got some numbers for you.

Here is the total circulating supply, which is 1.58B Pi — close to 80% of that is already locked

So even if there will be a dump at the start… most of the Pi will be locked away.

This means much less dump — essentially 80% less than what people think. And remember, that remaining 20% of people’s balance is for them to use in the ecosystem, so maybe not all of that will be dumped straight on market, cos they may invest in Pi dApps like Pi token ICOs , NFTs, use Pi webshops, travel using Pi etc

Most have joined for quick gains… but all participating are beginning to understand that this is long term and potentially, that’s where lifechanging money could potentially be made. So people’s perceptions are changing to a more long term approach, rather than the quick, easy small profit that P&D projects or airdrops have.

Navi:

People will think about long term I believe and this will really change many lives 😃

Kozii π:
Well here’s the thing right…

Most have joined for quick gains… but all participating are beginning to understand that this is long term and potentially, that’s where lifechanging money could potentially be made. So people’s perceptions are changing to a more long term approach, rather than the quick, easy small profit that P&D projects or airdrops have.

But I’m sure as this AMA goes on, it becomes more obvious as to why that it.

LIVE AMA QUESTIONS:

Navi:

Q1: What are plans and purposes for Pi network and what role it plays in future of cryptocurrency adoption and promotion?

Kozii π:
The biggest plan is to reach the open mainnet when the becomes decentralized on scale. When this happens, the free market will decide the price of Pi, so there will be a market value for Pi. This is an important milestone as before this, many developers have a hard time monetizing their app, as well as users have a hard time to figure out how much their Pi is worth.

I see Pi Network onboarding over a billion users in the future & I see Pi Network being a tool to onboard the masses into cryptocurrency, more specifically, to Pi. It may seem crazy at first, of course!

But Pi is only 2 minutes away from anyone, and the biggest hold back is that there is no market value for Pi. When this changes, only then we can truly put Pi to the test of free market. Let people decide what they prefer: simplicity, free and easy, or expensive, technical or complicated. It’s totally up to them.

Navi:

Q2: Why PI Network launched Pre launched tokens on Huobi and Bitmart? Is it fake or real token?

Kozii π:
As mentioned those are Pi IOUs — not real Pi. Exchanges basically see the huge demand and are facilitating supply — risk free, right? They just created a Pi IOU for free — because they trust Pi Network to deliver Pi open mainnet — then allowed traders to trade and speculate on the price of Pi.

Whatever happens, happens, those users simply trust the exchange, that if and when the open mainnet launches, they will be able to redeem those Pi IOUs for real Pi. It’s all kinda fishy, I’m sure all of you agree, but exchanges are already kind of confirming that “as soon as Pi is ready to be listed on exchanges, we will list it ASAP, you guys just trade with these Pi IOUs and we make some profit in the meantime”.

Nobody asked for this, the Pi core team even issued a press release and are actively seeking ways to get those removed. If you’re interested in exactly what happened, feel free to refer back to the twitter thread I posted above.

Navi:

Q3: What will be the determinant that $Pi will be better than $BTC and $ETH, what factor do we have to look forward to as assure that Pi network will outperform the 2 biggest cryptocurrency.

Kozii π:
It may seem like I’m going around in circles, but it’s important to give sufficient context.

Again: accessibility.

It’s underrated and most people don’t think about it often, but what if everyone could easily participate in bitcoin mining or ethereum staking — without the technological know how and huge set up costs? Would there be more people? How would that affect the price, if instead of 100 million holders, there would be 1 billion?

This is exactly what we are trying to see and learn.

What happens where a cryptocurrency is so easy and simple to use that it can spread around the globe and literally anyone can get rewarded for participating for the network?

When people go to work, they exchange time for money. When people run a business, for example, they sell products for money. When people mine Bitcoin, they invest in bitcoin mining tech and pay electricity costs to see some returns in Bitcoin. In Ethereum, people can invest in 32 ETH to run a validator node, to stake, and earn Ethereum.

Here at Pi Network, people can do a number of things to help secure and grow the network. In exchange, they receive Pi. How much Pi you one gets is heavily correlated to how much actual work they have done to help the network grow or get secured further. There is no correct way to calculate how much those “costs”. It really depends on many factors.

And differs from person to person.

But in essence, Pi Network rewards users for genuine work for helping the Network. It’s a totally different way of “earning money” so how valuable Pi is, really depends on how much people value their time and work. This differs vastly, and will be very interesting to see as the open mainnet is launched.

It’s a global shift in perception attached to value, money, work and crypto, so I truly see a shift that will take place in society where people will value EVERYTHING different.

People will have to learn how to value Pi. It’s everything, but priced in.

We just don’t know. That is the correct answer. People will decide how much they value all their efforts on a global scale.

Navi:

Indeed community will decides its value. I’m sure it won’t be manipulated by whales.

Kozii π:
Everyone can play for free and decide.

impossible. Even the biggest “pi whales” could only amass like 0.001 or sometihng really low amount of Pi.

But that is because they helped the network grow.

Navi:

More hodlers = Less manipulation

Kozii π:
Not because they had money or they had insiders info or becasue they were at the right place at the right time.

They had done work for the network.

Manipulation is minimized.

But yeah, that’s my answer, we have to take the one dimensional glasses off and view things from a helicopter point of view.

Navi:

Q4: Any ideas as to why some people that started mining Pi recently have been invited for KYC and old miners haven’t been invited?

Kozii π:
The Pi Core team uses AI and machine algorithm for their Pi KYC, so it is that algorithm that selects users. It uses a number of factors, but clearly, it selects new users as well. There are still 33 million users waiting for KYC, so naturally, new users also stand a chance at getting KYC, right? Old miners are not necessary favoured, they are in a queue with other users too.

What is important to realize is that we have to allow sufficient time, so the majority of the network can pass KYC before open mainnet.

As Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis said “No pioneer is being left behind.” It doesn’t make sense to launch open mainnet without the actually active userbase successfully KYC, so I wouldn’t worry about this.

Just understand that there is a queue and the selection is random.

There’s not much more to it.

Navi:

A little Question, I’m sure the Pi team circle would be big. Who manages it? 👀

Kozii π:
There are around 40 members of the Pi core team but it is mainly in hands of Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis and Dr. Chengdiao Fan, founders of Pi Network.

Navi:
Who manages those KYC requests? 😳

Kozii π:
Well, we fund Pi mainly. They bootstrapped the app with minimal resources, but it has tons of traffic, so high maintenance costs as well as paying developers — it’s not cheap, right?

What PCT has done after 1 year or so after launch

is basically introduced advertising — which is basically this: you watch 1 advert when you restart your mining session.

you can turn this off, but over time it adds up and gives sufficient cashflow to run the operations.

The KYC is another story

Before you send the application, it will show exactly what details will be redacted from the documents.

Most of it is done by AI but further checks and like “double confirmations” are done by KYC validators. They are basically just double checking if the AI is doing it’s job correctly and helping ensure AI the correct decision is reached.

We haven’t seen any cases of leaked data or anyone selling data.

Kozii π:

What would happen to your project if Pi becomes mainstream?

(instert a chart going down image here)

that’s what most people think

they value their project, right?

Kozii π:

if Pi takes the lead and gets widespread, mainstream adoption… what do you think will happen to those novice altcoin bags people religiously holding onto?

Most of those will do what your gif exactly shows.

let the free market decide, let people see andtest pi. if the pi lifestyle is attractive, people will chose it

if people prefer cat pictures in NFTs and yield farming, great!

Navi:

Since no body loose anything so it won’t be a panic situation. After all it’s just 2 minutes away from us 😁

Kozii π:
That’s the key right there. It’s a simple way of entry into crypto for everyone.

Not just for the cryptobros
or the crytpto co’s

Navi:

Q5: How to do kyc as I am mining it for 2 years. But unable to do KYC. What’s the reason behind?

Kozii π:
The biggest reason for this is that there are way more KYC applications, than KYC validators. So validating all those applications will naturally take time.

Basically anyone that passed KYC can apply to become a KYC validator.

They earn a fraction of that 1 Pi that people pay for the KYC. Legit work = legit Pi rewards.

More validators = more KYC that can be checked.

However, I think the biggest problem is the server load. I don’t know the limitations, but you can imagine that, for example, 10,000 KYC applications is not as heavy on the servers as 100,000.

Navi:
Are there any positions open for new validators?

Kozii π:
yes, anyone that passed KYC can become one, basically.

What if the KYC infrastructure can only handle a low amount of KYC applications each day? Well, if that is the case, then basically the Pi Core team developers have to improve the Pi KYC infrastructure and make it more scalable.

It’s a positive, self-fulfilling cycle — more kyc = more validators = more checks

but then again, can the infrastructure support those crazy numbers?

I’m just guessing now, but I think Pi Core Team has launched the Pi KYC successfully at first, but the system can’t keep up with the current demand and therefore they have to scale it further so it can support more applications per day.

Also, don’t forget about bugs and problems.

There are unexpected bugs that can occur in this whole development process, which need to be fixed.

That’s the nature of developing anything. You create, you test, you iterate, you go again and repeat this process.

One of this bug currently is some KYCs are stuck in the system for some reason. The developers have to figure out what happened exactly, why it happened, how to rectify it, then implement the new code, test it and see the results.

As you can see, it is a time consuming process but the Pi Core team is building systems to support billions of users.