Complete guide

Pi Network complete guide: how to start, KYC, the Mainnet migration and whether you can sell PI

By Free Lunch Lab · Last updated November 11, 2026

Pi Network is a project where you collect a crypto asset called PI by tapping a button in a phone app every 24 hours. It started in 2019, and the app is published by SocialChain Inc. “Mining” here doesn’t mean power-hungry computation: it means opening the app every day and staying active.²³¹⁸

On 20 February 2025 Pi moved to the “Open Network”, connected to the outside world, and PI began trading on overseas exchanges such as OKX. To sell, though, you first need identity verification (KYC) and migration to the Mainnet, and no registered exchange in Japan handles it. The price is down more than 90% from its February 2025 high.⁷¹²¹⁴¹⁵

Good fit if you

Open your phone every day anyway and don’t mind one tap a day
Want to try how crypto works without spending money
Can treat PI as a small extra and won’t be hurt if its price falls a lot
Can handle identity verification and managing a wallet on your own

Not a good fit if you

Need income in cash right away
Only want to hold assets you can sell on an exchange in your own country (in Japan, PI isn’t listed)
Aren’t confident you can keep a 24-word passphrase safe yourself
Plan to recruit acquaintances one after another to mine faster

At a glance

Run by: Pi Core Team (the app is published by SocialChain Inc.) ¹¹⁸
What you get: The crypto asset PI, collected by tapping a button in the app every 24 hours ²
Cost: The app is free and mining costs nothing ¹⁸
Needed to move PI: KYC (identity verification) and migration to a Mainnet wallet ⁴⁶
Where it trades: Overseas exchanges such as OKX, Bitget, MEXC, Gate and Kraken (as of 11 November 2026) ¹³
Japanese exchanges: Not listed (list of assets handled by association members, updated 2 November 2026) ¹⁵
Price: About $0.072 (about ¥11, 11 November 2026, CoinGecko). The high was about $2.98 on 26 February 2025 ¹³¹⁴
Supply: Capped at 100 billion PI; about 11.4 billion PI in circulation ³¹⁴

Getting started and daily mining

Install the official Pi Network app (App Store or Google Play). It is free, also on the Japanese App Store, and published by SocialChain Inc. ¹¹⁸
Enter an invitation code when you sign up. This site’s code is “eltociear”; using it also raises the mining rate of the person who invited you (the person who runs this site) ³
Open the app every 24 hours and tap the lightning button. Once tapped, PI keeps building up even if you close the app; if you don’t tap, nothing builds up ²
After 30 days of mining (they don’t have to be consecutive), apply for KYC in the KYC app inside the Pi Browser. A “tentative” approval is not full approval and won’t let you migrate ⁴
Follow the checklist in the app’s “Mainnet” tab: create a wallet in the Pi Browser, write down the passphrase, choose a lockup (a setting that keeps PI unmovable for a period) and migrate your balance to the Mainnet ³⁵¹⁰

Second migrations (moving PI you collected later) have been rolling out gradually since March 2026. You first need to turn on two-factor authentication for your wallet, and referral bonuses tied to team members who passed KYC are moved at the same time.⁸

There are three main ways to mine faster. When you and someone you invited are mining at the same time, each of you gets 25% more. Adding trusted people to your “Security Circle” adds 0.2 times the base rate per person (up to five), and locking up PI on the Mainnet adds more depending on the period (two weeks to three years) and the share you lock.³

Mind the deadlines: people who missed the grace period deadlines for KYC or migration can only move what they mined in the six months before their migration; the rest is forfeited.⁶

What you can and can’t do with PI

You can

Send PI you have migrated to the Mainnet to other people’s wallets and receive it (a small fee in PI applies) ⁹
Send PI to an overseas exchange that lists it and sell it there (OKX, Bitget, MEXC, Gate, Kraken and others) ¹²¹³
Pay with PI in apps inside the Pi Browser ⁸
Lock up PI to mine faster ³

You can’t

Buy or sell it at a registered exchange in Japan: PI is not in the list of assets handled by association members (updated 2 November 2026) ¹⁵
Move the PI you mined before finishing KYC and the Mainnet migration ⁴⁶
Recover a wallet whose passphrase you lost (it isn’t stored on Pi’s servers) ¹⁰
Move locked-up PI before the lockup period ends ³

A note for people in Japan using overseas exchanges: in June 2025 Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued warnings to three overseas exchanges that list PI, Bitget, MEXC and LBank, for soliciting Japanese residents online for derivatives trading without registration. If something goes wrong with a business that isn’t registered in Japan, don’t expect the protection you would get from a registered exchange.¹⁶

Key events

2019
Pi Network starts (the original white paper) ³
December 2021
The “Enclosed Mainnet” period, with no connection to outside networks, begins ⁷
1 July 2024
The grace period for KYC and migration begins; the deadlines were later extended to 28 February 2025 ⁶
20 February 2025
Move to the Open Network (08:00 UTC). PI starts trading on overseas exchanges such as OKX ⁷¹²
26 February 2025
All-time high so far, about $2.98 ¹⁴
18 September 2025
Fast Track KYC starts: people with fewer than 30 mining sessions can use a wallet (their mined PI can’t be migrated yet) ⁵
14 March 2026
Pi says 16,568,774 Pioneers have migrated (as of 5 March). Second migrations begin rolling out and Kraken adds PI ⁸
17 September 2026
Pi announces it has unblocked KYC for over 417,000 people and a fix for 497,000 people stuck in migration ⁹
9 November 2026
All-time low so far, about $0.0626 ¹⁴

FAQ

Is Pi Network free? Does it cost anything?

The app is free and mining costs nothing. It does take a daily tap, and sending PI on the Mainnet needs a small fee in PI. Don’t believe sites or accounts that aren’t on the official list and offer a faster migration if you pay a fee.¹⁹¹⁸

Can I sell PI in Japan and get yen?

No registered exchange in Japan handles PI, so you can’t turn it into yen at a domestic exchange (list of assets handled by association members, updated 2 November 2026). PI trades on overseas exchanges such as OKX, Bitget, MEXC, Gate and Kraken, but Japan’s Financial Services Agency has warned Bitget, MEXC and LBank over soliciting without registration. If you use an overseas exchange, check its terms to see whether residents of Japan may use it, and decide at your own risk.¹³¹⁵¹⁶

Is Pi Network a scam?

PI has actually traded on overseas exchanges since February 2025, and there is an official site and app, so it isn’t a scam in the sense of nothing existing. But the price fell more than 90%, from its 26 February 2025 high (about $2.98) to around $0.07 in November 2026. Of the 100 billion PI cap, about 11.4 billion are in circulation, and how much more reaches the market will also weigh on the price. There are also many scams that use Pi Network’s name.³¹³¹⁴

What is the passphrase, and what if I lose it?

The passphrase is 24 English words that act as the key to your wallet. It is created on your phone and never sent to Pi’s servers, so if you lose it, it can’t be recovered. Write it on paper and keep it out of sight. Pi will never ask for it, and the only place to enter it is “wallet.pinet.com” in the Pi Browser.¹¹⁰¹¹

My KYC has been pending for ages. What can I do?

First check your status in the KYC app in the Pi Browser. On 17 September 2026 Pi announced that over 417,000 people held up as suspected duplicate accounts could move forward, a fix for 497,000 people who couldn’t migrate because they lacked PI for the fee, and new chances to redo the liveness (face) check. Never hand your ID or account to anyone offering to “do your KYC for you”.⁴⁹

What happens if I don’t do KYC?

You can’t migrate to the Mainnet, so you can’t send or sell your PI. People who missed the grace period deadlines lose what they mined more than six months before their migration.⁶

Do I pay tax if I sell PI?

For residents of Japan, the National Tax Agency says crypto obtained through mining counts as income at its value when you receive it, and gains from crypto trading are in principle miscellaneous income. How to value it and whether you need to file depend on your situation, so ask a tax office or a tax accountant. In other countries the rules differ.¹⁷

What about people offering to sell PI cheaply or buy my PI?

Treat offers to buy or sell PI on social media or between individuals as very likely scams. The official channels and apps are only the ones listed on the official site; anything else is not official even if it says it is. Refuse anything that asks you to send money first or asks for your passphrase.¹¹¹

The good parts

Costs nothing to start: all you need is a phone and a daily tap ²¹⁸
Has actually traded on overseas exchanges since February 2025 ⁷¹³
Listed by overseas exchanges including large ones such as OKX and Kraken ⁸¹²¹³
More than 16 million people have migrated, and apps that accept PI are appearing in the Pi Browser ⁸
You hold the wallet key yourself; your PI isn’t left with the operator ¹⁰

Risks and caveats

Steep fall: from the 26 February 2025 high (about $2.98) to around $0.07 in November 2026, down more than 90% ¹³¹⁴
No registered exchange in Japan lists it; turning it into yen means using an overseas exchange ¹⁵
Some overseas exchanges that list PI (Bitget, MEXC, LBank) have been warned by Japan’s Financial Services Agency over soliciting without registration ¹⁶
Of the 100 billion PI cap, about 11.4 billion are in circulation. More reaching the market could weigh on the price ³¹⁴
KYC and migration can keep you waiting a long time, and if you miss the deadlines you lose what you mined more than six months earlier ⁶⁹
If your passphrase is lost or stolen, your PI can’t be recovered ¹⁰¹¹
Many scams use Pi Network’s name: fake wallets, fake PI sales, “KYC services” and sites that fish for your passphrase ¹¹¹
Needs a daily tap; days you forget earn nothing ²
The more people you refer, the better you do. If you invite people you know, tell them about the price risk too ³

If you want to start

Before you start, look at how the price has moved (on CoinGecko, for example) and check where you could actually sell it. Never tell anyone your passphrase.

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Update log

November 11, 2026 Published, covering the exchanges since the Open Network, KYC and Mainnet migration (up to the September 2026 update), the situation in Japan, tax, and prices as of 11 November 2026