Pi Network introduced its Launchpad test version on Pi Day 2026, alongside smart contracts, GenAI App Studio, and a 526 million PI reward program. The biggest change sits in the token launch rules: projects must ship a working product before issuing tokens, and PI collected during token launches will be routed into liquidity pools instead of going straight to project teams.
Launch model shifts toward live products first
Under Pi’s disclosed PiRC Design 1 framework, the platform is moving away from the familiar pattern of raising funds first and shipping later. The requirement is simple on paper: no product, no token. At the same time, PI paid in token issuance flows into a liquidity pool, not a project-controlled wallet. That structure makes direct extraction harder and puts Pi’s Launchpad in contrast with token sale models that have often drawn criticism across the market.
User conversion remains a key pressure point
Pi Network was founded in March 2019 by Stanford scholars Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis, using mobile mining to build a large user base. According to official figures, about 19 million users completed KYC, but only around 10 million completed migration to mainnet. That implies a conversion rate of roughly 53%.
The gap is hard to ignore. Nearly half of users who cleared identity verification either stopped before the final step or still have not completed the move to mainnet. The headline user count is large, but the number that actually converted into mainnet participants tells a more restrained story.
Price history shows a wide gap from peak levels
PI also carries a volatile market record. After listing, the token once climbed to an all-time high of $114 on what was then Huobi. On March 13, Kraken announced a PI listing, sending the token up 30% in a single day. By the source article’s publication deadline, PI was quoted at about $0.17.
Listing debates remain part of the project’s public image. The CEO of ByBit had previously said the exchange would not list PI, citing a 2023 warning from Chinese police that alleged systematic collection of personal data from elderly users. The source notes that Pi Network had not formally responded to that statement.
OpenMind tie-up puts 420,000 nodes in focus
Pi Network also said it will work with AI computing platform OpenMind to turn its existing 420,000 nodes into decentralized AI computing resources. That pushes the project beyond its original mobile-mining identity and toward AI infrastructure.
The node count is large. Still, usable computing power depends on node quality, network reliability, and OpenMind’s execution. A big headline number can point to real infrastructure, or remain little more than an inventory figure.
Mainnet questions still hang over the Launchpad
The Launchpad’s rules may raise the bar for token issuance and reduce the ease of direct project-side extraction, but major operational details remain unclear in the source material. Questions include how smart contracts will be deployed on Pi mainnet, how projects will launch there, how tokens will be issued, and whether assets can move across chains. Those details will shape whether the Launchpad becomes a functional venue for projects or stays, for now, a mechanism-led proposal.