Pi Network vs Bitcoin: What are the differences?

Pi Network will have a big week as it finally launches its mainnet launch on Thursday, February 20th. This mainnet launch will benefit pioneers and developers who have been working on the network for over six years.

Pi Network, the wildly popular tap-to-earn cryptocurrency, is having an unprecedented week as online debate about its future surges ahead of the mainnet launch.

So, will Pi Coin become a viable Bitcoin rival or will its price action fizzle away as many former popular tokens like Hamster Kombat and Catizen?

Let’s find out!

Pi Network vs Bitcoin: What are the differences?

Pi Network will have a big week as it finally launches its mainnet launch on Thursday, February 20th. This mainnet launch will benefit pioneers and developers who have been working on the network for over six years.

“There’s less than three days before Open Network, which launches at 8:00AM UTC on February 20, 2025! What are you doing to prepare for Open Network, and how can you help build and grow Pi’s utility?”

Over 10 million pioneers will be able to sell their Pi coins and convert them into stablecoins and then into fiat. At the same time, over 100 developers will be able to showcase their work to a wider audience.

Pi Network’s goal is to be a better cryptocurrency than Bitcoin. The main difference between the two is how their mining works. Bitcoin requires sophisticated computers to compute complex mathematical calculations. Pi solves this problem by letting anyone with a smartphone mine tokens.

The other difference is that Pi Network is a layer-1 network with smart contract features that help developers build on top of its technology. Over 100 developers will showcase their dApps when the mainnet launch happens.

Bitcoin does not have these smart contract features, and the only way for one to build on top of it is to use layer-1 networks like Stacks and Core.

Pi Network aims to have lower transaction costs than Bitcoin. As a crypto focusing on the mass market, it hopes to charge cents. This is in contrast to Bitcoin whose transactions cost tens of dollars.

Pi coin will also be cheaper and readily available to users than Bitcoin. It is estimated that the initial Pi price will be the value of Pi at $3.14, which is more affordable than Bitcoin, which costs about $95,000.

Further, Pi has created already ecosystem of retailers in hundreds of countries who will be ready to accept the coin. The last count showed that there were over 27,000 shops ready to do that.

Better buy between Pi coin and Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the gold standard for the cryptocurrency industry. Its price has jumped from less than $1 in 2009 to over $95,000 today. Therefore, most experts like Michael Saylor, Cathie Wood, and Paul Tudor Jones recommend investing in Bitcoin.

“As we have written before, there are odds that the Pi coin price will crash after the mainnet launch as many pioneers sell their tokens. This is in line with other tap-to-earn tokens and recently airdropped cryptocurrencies.”

In the long-term, however, there are odds that the Pi coin price will bounce back. Some of the potential catalysts will be a Pi ETF approval since it is a Made in USA coin, its ecosystem growth, and hype among users.

Therefore, while Bitcoin is a good crypto to buy, Pi Network may be a good high-risk and high reward token to accumulate.

Read our Pi Coin coverage here.