Pioneer-created art by @Diange on Discord

Will Pi Network Become What Bitcoin is Supposed to Be?

By orbithunter | Orbit's Journal | 26 Jul 2022

Since the launch of the mass KYC solution for pioneers and later on the start of Mainnet migration on Pi2 day, many pioneers are now able to transfer their Pi on the Mainnet blockchain. This means that pioneers can now send and receive Pi with other pioneers. In line with this, some pioneers have started using their Pi to purchase real goods and started sharing them on Twitter. You can mostly see them on tweets tagged with #Pipayments which is currently trending on twitter as of writing.

These are some of the examples of transactions posted on Twitter that are purchased using Pi.

Most of these are peer-to-peer exchanges between individuals. Personally, I am still not comfortable using my Pi considering that there is a possibility for scams especially for digital transactions. However, seeing people using cryptocurrency to buy actual goods and not just speculative asset gives a breath of fresh air in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency for the most part is mostly used for trading, Defi, and NFTs (don't get me wrong, I also love these things), but seeing Pi users use their Pi for purchasing goods from other people implies that cryptocurrency can also be used in "real life" (whatever that means).

This is where I believe other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, seem to be failing. Nowadays, cryptocurrencies are mostly used as a store of value. There is nothing wrong with this, but it defeats the purpose for cryptocurrency - which is to be used as a decentralized exchange of value. The very nature that makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin a good store of value is also what makes it unattractive to be used as a currency. Think about it, why use your bitcoin you purchase a pizza if you can keep it today so you can sell it at a higher price in the future? The limited supply, which makes cryptocurrencies resistant to inflation, is unironically what makes it unattractive to be used for purchasing goods.

I know that it is still early to speculate whether Pi will be used like this in the future. Maybe this all just a temporary trend and might also fall "victim" to being used as a store of value. However, I am hoping that Pi, and other cryptocurrencies would continue this trend of adoption. If the Pi Network can make this work, we might have a chance to see a future where cryptocurrencies are widely used not just by investors, but also every consumer into their day-to-day life.