🎙️Odaily Exclusive Interview with a Senior Pi Friend: You Don't Understand Pi, So You Won't Own PiMining PI coins for 2000 days and nights, revealing the side of #Pi that you and I do not know.Author｜Golem (@web3_golem)On February 12, the leading global exchange #OKX announced the opening of deposits for $PI (Pi) and will simultaneously launch PI/USDT spot trading on February 20, when the Pi Network goes live on the mainnet. This news has triggered a series of butterfly effects, with many exchanges subsequently announcing support for PI, bringing Pi, which has been born for 6 years and has repeatedly been named "pyramid scheme" by regulators during its development, back into the spotlight. Even the "largest exchange in the universe," Binance, has been influenced, initiating a 10-day poll yesterday asking, "Do you want PI to be listed on Binance?"Veteran players familiar with the Web3 world are surprised that the Pi coin, which has been criticized for being a single-machine mining system with no on-chain verification, actually has a mainnet. They lament that exchanges like OKX would support such high-risk projects for user growth; meanwhile, participants in Pi believe that the proud figures in the crypto industry, who have never mined Pi, do not understand Pi at all and only share related memes, holding biases against Pi—"If you don't believe me, I don't have time to convince you."So, what is the real Pi like? It is difficult for those of us who have not truly integrated into the Pi community to know. The last tweet from the founder of Pi Network on the X platform was published on September 21, 2021. The only channels available to understand official Pi activities are the official blog and the official X account, while the core team and organizational members remain shrouded in mystery. There are also rumors that, after years of operation, there has been a significant turnover. Currently, the OTC price of PI coins fluctuates between 2-5 USDT, and "manual listing" forms occasionally appear in WeChat groups.According to the official blog, Pi Network will officially launch the mainnet on February 20, allowing Pi to interact with other networks and applications. However, the PI coins mined through mobile devices must go through KYC and successfully migrate to the mainnet before they can be transferred or traded autonomously.As the launch date approaches and the question of "authenticity verification" arises, in order to help readers better understand the whole picture of Pi, Odaily Planet Daily interviewed two "senior Pi friends" to learn how they joined and view Pi, their price expectations for PI, and their plans for the future... A glimpse into one corner of the Pi story from the perspective of those who have experienced it.(Note: The interviewees are all using pseudonyms. This article does not constitute investment advice.)Al Yao: Older people tend to be more persistent and less impetuousAl Yao has been mining PI coins for 1694 days (nearly 5 years) since 2019 and has promoted Pi to hundreds of people on the internet. However, after being unable to cash out for a long time and finding new opportunities, he gave up but continues to buy PI coins in the OTC market.Odaily: How did you first come into contact with Pi?Al Yao: I learned about Pi while playing "games," when I found out about this project through promotional information in WeChat groups. I saw that the founder had a background from Stanford University, and since it was free to register and participate, I decided to give it a try.Odaily: Is the actual mining process of Pi and the threshold high?Al Yao: The threshold for Pi is relatively low. Initially, it didn't even require "science"; you just needed to click daily to check in and could easily participate in mining, although the coins mined could not be withdrawn or traded. However, starting from the closed mainnet phase (December 28, 2021), once KYC is completed and migrated to the mainnet, they can be transferred, but due to domestic policy reasons, KYC has been quite difficult.Odaily: Mining PI coins requires checking in once every 24 hours. What keeps you mining PI coins for 5 years?Al Yao: Firstly, I had a good outlook on the blockchain and digital currency industry, believing there were opportunities for low-cost wealth accumulation; secondly, the background of Pi's founder was well-promoted; in 2019, having a Stanford background in a crypto project was very valuable; thirdly, mining PI coins was free, requiring no capital investment, and it was simple to do by just clicking daily; finally, because Pi has a promotion mechanism, the more people you invite, the faster the mining speed, which led many people to band together. Within the community, everyone "brainwashed" each other, forming a certain deep consensus, making many willing to invest long-term.Odaily: Is the promotion of Pi a model of pyramid selling?阿尧: The promotion model of Pi is not as strictly hierarchical as a "pyramid scheme"; the motivation for promotion is more about a spontaneous desire to increase mining speed. Many people promote it based on the reputations of prestigious universities and well-known professors, and there is only a first-level referral relationship for mining bonuses. Initially, some communities translated English tutorials into Chinese to promote it, but as people saw no returns for a long time, many groups gradually disbanded or were banned.Odaily: Do you have any offline activities or gatherings?阿尧: I personally prefer online promotion, so I haven't participated much in offline gatherings. However, there are offline activities for Pi. Previously, some promotion teams liked to organize meetings for older people, probably because online teaching is challenging.Odaily: In your promotion process, is the proportion of young people high or older people?阿尧: Initially, there were more young people because everything started with English documents. However, young people tend to be more impatient; when they see no short-term returns, they easily lose patience and give up. Later, as Chinese materials became more complete and some "pyramid" organizations began to promote Pi, the proportion of older people increased. Older individuals tend to be more persistent and less anxious. Even when some "pyramids" withdrew later, older friends remained confident and promoted it to those around them voluntarily.Odaily: What do you think about the overwhelming negative reports regarding Pi?阿尧: This depends on each person’s understanding. Even when there was a strong crackdown on Bitcoin in China, some people still played with it. Pi is free to participate in, and previously it could not circulate, so the actual risk is not high. However, bad actors are unavoidable; scams exist in every industry and project, but they are exceptions. When we promoted it, we emphasized free mining rather than requiring participants to buy virtual currency.Moreover, older people generally promote it through family and friends, as they are familiar with each other, which reduces the probability of deception.Odaily: How do you feel now that Pi has gained recognition from mainstream exchanges? What are your next steps?阿尧: I feel very excited and see many Pi friends "celebrating" in their social circles. Although I have not been deeply involved for a year, seeing Pi gain mainstream recognition, especially being listed on OKX, is thrilling.Currently, the proportion of users mining Pi who have gone through KYC is low, and even fewer have migrated their coins to the mainnet. Among the people I know, none have completed this step yet. So, in reality, most people do not hold any coins; I plan to buy a base position first.Odaily: What do you expect the price of the PI coin to be after it goes live?阿尧: The price on OKX must be at least 9 USDT or higher to be considered a successful first step; if not, I will basically deem this project a failure.Odaily: Do you think Pi will become second only to Bitcoin in the future?阿尧: Pi has grand ambitions, aiming to create a global payment system where users can directly use Pi coins for transactions worldwide without converting to other fiat currencies. However, there is significant controversy surrounding Pi online. Although the performance of the Pi network is indeed not as good as Solana’s, if Pi succeeds, its price will certainly disrupt everyone’s perception. I believe the probability of its success is over 70%.德佑: Pi is essentially a zero-investment project, and the user base has surpassed that of many chains.德佑 has been participating in Pi network mining and promotion since 2019, and has been mining continuously for nearly 2000 days, promoting it to over a thousand people.Odaily: Can you introduce Pi in one sentence?德佑: Pi is a revolution, or an innovation in Web3, initiated by a senior blockchain professor from Stanford University in the United States.Odaily: When did you first come into contact with Pi?德佑: I came into contact with Pi in August 2019 and have been mining for nearly 2000 days now. However, I have been involved in the crypto space since 2015, and I learned about Pi through WeChat groups and social circles. After in-depth research, I believed it was a good project and subsequently promoted it to over 1000 people.Odaily: What is the reason you insist on mining and promoting Pi?德佑: One reason I promote it is that it accelerates the mining output, and another is that it’s called "Pi," which gives me the impression that it’s a good project; otherwise, it wouldn’t be named after the mathematical constant. Additionally, the project team has been persistent over the years, and I and my subordinates haven't invested any money, just part-time promotion; so why not persist?Odaily: Do you have any offline activities or gatherings?德佑: I started offline promotion in 2020. The reason I don’t promote online is that I believe information is interconnected; everyone who should have registered online has already done so, so I began with people around me.However, my team basically does not have offline gatherings, and I have not participated in large-scale offline events because the promotion is mainly done through people around me and friends. However, there were many activities in Sichuan and Kunming before, but now that the mainnet is about to launch, conference activities have decreased.Odaily: How does your promotion team operate?De You: My team mainly relies on my promotional efforts. When I was in another industry, I had 10,700 direct subordinates, but not all of them have transitioned to mining Pi. The users mining Pi are those I have introduced one by one starting from friends around me, so there isn't a strong organizational structure.I have nearly 2,000 team leaders who are friends mining Pi, but the team leader role is not a strict position; anyone with promotional ability who wants to mine more Pi can become a team leader. Besides time, nothing else is required, and no one is given additional monetary incentives.Odaily: What do you think about the overwhelming negative reports regarding Pi?De You: I believe that the things reported are not necessarily accurate. Bitcoin was initially regarded as a Ponzi scheme, but today it is legal in many countries. Pi is essentially a zero-cost project; the project team has never demanded mandatory fees, but some people have engaged in inducement fraud during the promotion process, which is absolutely illegal.However, there are almost no people around me who have been scammed because they are all under my management and do not interact with outside people.Odaily: How do you feel about Pi being recognized by mainstream exchanges?De You: I belong to a laid-back mining approach; even if it is not valuable, I am paying for my initial excitement. If it becomes valuable, it will just be a small wealth for me. But I think the launch of the mainnet is something to be happy about; after five or six years of effort, it has finally paid off. I will not withdraw the mined coins to exchanges; I will follow the project's pace forward.Odaily: Are there many people around you who have migrated to the mainnet?De You: Most of my team has passed KYC, but less than 20% have migrated to the mainnet; most have locked their assets for 1 year or 3 years.Odaily: Are there more people looking to learn how to mine Pi now? What age group are the new users in?De You: Firstly, the number of people has definitely increased, but this time, the new players brought by the heat are mostly middle-aged. Those who are too old don't know what is happening online.Odaily: Are you organizing over-the-counter trading? What are your price expectations for PI coins when they go online on exchanges?De You: If there is demand, I can help contact over-the-counter trading, mainly through WeChat. The average transaction price might be around 50 yuan per coin.Exchanges are places for speculation; their prices do not need to be taken seriously. According to "official intentions," the price of PI will ultimately not be lower than 314,159 USD because the officials ultimately want to support barter trade. If the price is too low, it cannot support the ecosystem.Odaily: What are your future expectations for the Pi project?De You: I think it must at least support barter trading. Pi has its own mall, which consists of spontaneous merchants. Moreover, I am also one of the 28,000 merchants and will sell my brewery's products there in the future.Odaily: Do you think Pi will become a presence second only to Bitcoin?De You: Bitcoin will always be the big brother. I have bought Bitcoin before, but I do not have a deep understanding of it overall. However, Pi, as a younger sibling, has its unique potential and uses. Although it cannot replace Bitcoin, its future prospects are bright, and the user base of Pi has already surpassed many chains in the blockchain space.
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