Pi Network Pioneers Express Concern Over Slow Mainnet Launch Progress and Its Potential Impact on Token Value

Pi Network has just turned 5 years. A verified user who has mined Pi tokens for over five years took to Twitter to voice frustration over the delayed mainnet launch and the slow pace of development.

Pi Network pioneers are growing concerned over the slow progress toward the long-awaited mainnet launch and its potential impact on token value.

A verified user who has mined Pi tokens for over five years expressed frustration over the delayed mainnet launch and slow pace of development. Pi Network, known as the first tap-to-earn platform, is especially popular in emerging markets like China, Brazil, and India.

Launched in 2019 by Stanford scientists Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, Pi Network set out to create a cryptocurrency that’s easy to mine and use.

Pi Network users, called pioneers, can mine tokens by simply pressing a button on the mobile app. These tokens are currently worthless but are expected to gain value once the open mainnet launches.

As part of its roadmap, Pi Network entered an enclosed mainnet in December 2021. This period allows for calibrations on the token model before the official mainnet launch and enables developers to build applications that will give Pi coin utility after launch.

Pi Network marks 2000 days since its official launch on March 14, 2019! This milestone reflects the steady, ongoing efforts of our community—as we move ever closer to our vision of building the world’s most inclusive peer-to-peer ecosystem and online experience, fueled by… pic.twitter.com/DiQmIyq7qi

But the mainnet launch has taken longer than many users expected, leading some to abandon the project. Some analysts believe that Pi Network has kept its mainnet closed for so long because the platform makes a lot of money.

The current business model sees the developers earn revenue from advertisements displayed each time a person mines a coin. They’re thus incentivized to keep it on an enclosed mainnet for as long as there are users mining coins.

A similar argument has been made about Telegram’s tap-to-earn tokens, such as Hamster Kombat and TapSwap. These platforms are generating huge sums of money, particularly on YouTube, where they've amassed millions of followers. A concern is that their YouTube videos will no longer generate these views once the tokens begin trading.

Pi Network developers are hoping to move to the mainnet later this year, but some analysts are skeptical that this will happen. For it to do so, it will need to have a large number of pioneers verified, a move the developers say is necessary to stop bots. Those who fail to complete the KYC will see their accumulated tokens burned and removed from circulation.

🚨 🆘📢Urgent Notice for Pi Network Users: Billions of Pi at Risk! 🚨Attention Pi Network Pioneers: ⏳ The clock is ticking with just five weeks remaining before billions of Pi coins could potentially be burned! 🔥 This is a critical period for the Pi Network community, as… pic.twitter.com/dbRfgLwIh0

The other conditions for the mainnet launch are harder to achieve. For instance, the developers want to have at least 100 dApps in the ecosystem, a tall order considering there are less than 50 to date.

They also want the launch to coincide with a favorable market environment. It remains to be seen whether cryptocurrencies will be in an uptrend by the end of the year.

As we've noted previously, all signs indicate that the Pi coin will drop after listing as numerous pioneers sell off their holdings. Recently, all tap-to-earn tokens that began trading, such as Notcoin (NOT) and Pixelverse (PIXFI), crashed after their initial hype.

This mirrors what occurred in other popular sectors, such as move-to-earn and play-to-earn, where tokens like Decentraland (MANA) and Sweatcoin (SWEAT) crashed.