For the large majority of people interested in crypto, access to popular coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin is extremely restricted because of the immense resources and technical experience required to efficiently mine. As well, with the increase in mining farms, crypto mining has now become a large contributor to CO2 emissions and as a result, global warming.
Enter Pi, the “first digital currency that you can mine on your phone.” This project, founded by Stanford University alums, aims to create a cryptocurrency that is widely accessible and environmentally sustainable. It does this by allowing users to “mine” the coin through their mobile phone with minimal to no impact on data speeds and battery consumption.
Pi’s consensus algorithm is built off of the Stellar blockchain which utilizes the FBA protocol. This protocol allows for open membership and decentralization with quorums coming from nodes. The individual users act as these nodes and are rewarded newly minted coins for staying connected and confirming their connection to the Pi network every 24 hours.
(This is an overly simplified explanation, for more in depth information visit the links below!)
Although Pi is still in its relatively early stages of development, the technology seems to be catching on with the crypto and mainstream communities. It debuted on Pi Day last year and since then has grown to a community of over 2.5 million “Pioneers”. They recently added a few more members to their team as they prep for a productive 2020.
This technology is extremely exciting for the future of mainstream and widespread crypto usage. Stay tuned for more updates as the project develops!
Join the growing Pi community at:
Yes, this is a referral link :)
For more in depth information on the FBA Protocol https://towardsdatascience.com/federated-byzantine-agreement-24ec57bf36e0
For more in depth information on Pi head to https://minepi.com/white-paper
