Pi Network Scam or Legit?
Hitesh Malviya is the Founder of ItsBlockchain. He is one of the earliest adopters of blockchain & cryptocurrency enthusiasts in India. After being in space for a few years, he started IBC in 2016 to help other early adopters learn about the technology. Before IBC, Hitesh has founded 4 companies in the cybersecurity & IT space. The Pi Network is basically a virtual crypto currency platform based upon blockchain. This crypto currency network was founded by three Ph.D. scholars of Stanford University – Dr. Nicolas Kokkali’s, Vincent McPhillips, and Dr, Chengdiao Fan. You know what makes the Pi network different from other crypto currency projects.
As of right now, making a Pi coin price prediction is quite difficult, since the crypto isn’t live on exchanges, and even the Pi mainnet hasn’t yet launched. Some crypto experts have made their Pi coin price predictions anyway. Forecasts from those who have downloaded the Pi Network app have suggested that a Pi crypto token could be worth anywhere between $10 and $100 right now. It’s important to note though that there is absolutely no evidence you can look into to back this particular claim up, and even the team behind the Pi Network hasn’t released any data regarding the price of the Pi crypto in the future. It was believed that the Pi network will be able to run real-life monetary through Pi coins in the future. Its commonly used consensus algorithm called Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) was developed by the Computer Science Professor of Stanford University – David Maziaries. Pi Network is only providing the service of Pi crypto tokens mining.
You must have gathered by now that there are many allegations against the Pi Network. However, it’s to be noted that the founders of the Pi Network have come forward since the beginning and put their faces and reputations to the cryptocurrency project. Plus, the developers are also not offering any grand rewards or too good to be true incentives to push people to join in the mining of the Pi crypto – they are just inviting you along on the journey to see where this endeavor goes. So essentially by just downloading the Pi Network app and opening it once a day, you could potentially profit off of that meager effort in the future.
The network does not look like a scam. The network has disclosed its core members which really doesn’t happen in the scam networks. They have also got a white paper that explains the concept of how it works and what policy it has. However, if your question is whether the Pi Network and the Pi currency are legit the answer is time will tell. The app is currently on phase two, Phase 3 is when the trading will become available and PI coin will draw a value based on demand and supply says the team. Since the app is free and doesn’t drain battery I see no harm in trying out the Pi app. No one believed that Bitcoin would be what it is today in the year 2009 and it is quite possible that the mobile mining ‘Pi currency’ could be the next big cryptocurrency tomorrow.
The first thing that makes users doubt the Pi Network is the fact that the plan for the project so far just seems to be increasing the number of users on the platform and testing the system out, and what happens next is anybody’s guess. Since even the developers can’t provide concrete reassurances regarding the efficacy and value of the Pi crypto in the future, it’s natural that experienced crypto users would be sceptical about this particular crypto project.
There’s also the fact that the Pi Network definitely lacks transparency compared to other cryptocurrency platforms. They have not yet released the network’s source code for its community of users to review. Plus the users on the Pi Network don’t get access to their own private keys, so the Pi coins they earn can completely vanish at some point in the future for all they know.
In May 2020 advertisements were added to the Pi Network app, which might mean that the software is, in fact, only monetizing the over 10 million users who have downloaded it.
Another concern many users have raised is regarding the data a user has to provide when they download the Pi Network app, including their full name, phone number, and Facebook username, which could be used to run a scam or hacking attempt on further personal information and finances. And since new users can only join in on the network with a referral code from an existing user, many have pointed out that the Pi Network could be a pyramid scheme.
There is no telling where this whole idea is headed but of course, we always hope that it does great. I am no psychic but I do see this doing about the same type of numbers that every other CryptoCurrency project has done. Being that it is completely free to join, I don’t see the harm in signing up and seeing where everything goes but again, that does require time.
According to the founders, the Pi coin is a cryptocurrency with two major incentives that can potentially pull a great number of miners in: firstly, of course, it is accessible to all and very easy to mine and generate. And secondly, it gives the common folk the opportunity to seize more economic value instead of giving away all power over their money to centralized financial institutions like banks or any other centralized authority figure or third party. Now, you might ask what you can use the Pi crypto tokens you are mining for. To answer your question: honestly speaking, right now there’s not much you can do with a Pi coin. However, the developers of the Pi Network have a long term plan for their crypto token. If all goes according to that plan of theirs, with time you will be able to directly purchase goods and services using your Pi crypto. This will be because they intend to create a P2P (peer-to-peer) marketplace for goods and services. You might just also get the opportunity to swap out the Pi coins you hold with a fiat currency of your choice.
Is the Pi Network a Scam or Legit?
The very first thing that makes Pi network users doubtful is the project plan to increase the number of users. Besides this, there is a lack of transparency in the Pi network in comparison to cryptocurrency projects. Furthermore, there is no access to the Pi network with private keys. These Pi coins can completely vanish at some point in the future. In this regard, developers stated that the Pi network is not offering you any reward or incentive for inviting people. Additionally, the Pi network claimed to find many self-sustaining projects. After this, many users found that these adverts are pretty harmless for them.
