Pi Network (PI) has shattered records, becoming the largest and most valuable airdrop in crypto history, surpassing Uniswap’s (UNI) previous achievement. This development follows the network’s mainnet launch and the token’s debut on major exchanges, sparking huge excitement in the crypto industry.
A report from Bitget exchange shows that Uniswap once led the crypto airdrop game, reaching a $6.43 billion value after its 2020 allocations. Interestingly, Pi Network has now shattered that record, doubling Uniswap’s airdrop value. With 6.3 billion PI tokens in circulation and a launch price of around $2, Pi Network’s airdrop value hit a massive $12.6 billion on Thursday.
Pi Network’s Airdrop: A Huge Success
Pi Network’s airdrop, launched with its mainnet, has made a big mark in the crypto world. Unlike typical airdrops that reward early users, Pi Network focuses on mass participation. The team remarked that since 2019, millions of people have mined tokens on their phones, building a large, engaged community that made the airdrop a huge success.
Ahead of the launch, several crypto exchanges, including Bitget, offered Pi Network airdrops. Similarly, BitMart promoted USDT giveaways in anticipation of the mainnet’s open phase. It also gained significant support from major crypto exchanges. MEXC launched pre-listing trading for the token, which quickly gained attention. After the mainnet launch, other top exchanges followed suit, with OKX adding the PI/USDT pair for spot trading and Bitget offering PI/USDT Futures.
Beyond The Closed Ecosystem
With the launch of its Open phase, Pi Network has expanded beyond its closed ecosystem. The project’s team announced that it’s now fully connected to external networks, enabling smooth integration with other blockchains and financial systems.
“Open Network has unlocked Pi’s thriving ecosystem, innovative applications, and extensive peer-to-peer network for integration with the broader blockchain world,” the team noted.
The Pi Network team highlighted that the Open Network will help achieve their goal of creating a “utility-driven and widely adopted cryptocurrency,” allowing users to make transactions beyond Pi’s internal system.
The blog post also noted that Open Network also brings support for integrations with centralized exchanges (CEXs) and onramps to provide additional means of acquiring Pi for use in the Pi ecosystem, and more third-party services, along with Node updates and more.
The Open Network Challenge!
In celebration of Open Network, Pi Network will launch an Open Network Challenge next week. It would allow Pioneers to learn more about Open Network and explore the ecosystem through interactive tasks and rewards.
Pi Network Faces Challenges Amid Record Airdrop
Despite its record-breaking airdrop, Pi Network faces challenges. These include regulatory scrutiny and doubts about its unique mining model. Besides, with many users being new to crypto, market volatility remains a big concern. There are concerns about Pi Network’s long-term performance, especially since Hamster Kombat, which had a similar model and hype, ended up failing.
Despite challenges, Pi Network’s leadership is committed to creating a decentralized and scalable ecosystem. With the network now fully open, the next few months will reveal if Pi Network can keep its momentum and fulfill its big vision.
Pi Network’s price started around $1.3 during the launch but quickly surged past $2, showing strong demand from investors. However, it is currently trading at $0.8783, down over 30% in the past 24 hours. This decline may be due to sell-offs by PI coin holders and miners, who can now trade the cryptocurrency.
