Starmax is the second place winner of Pi Hackathon 2025! Starmax is a loyalty program app that enables businesses to offer loyalty programs using Pi, and Pioneers to use Pi at participating businesses and earn rewards for their engagement.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hHi4lg3UDpc?feature=share

Starmax offers a practical way for businesses and Pioneers to use Pi through a loyalty system that connects both. Pioneers can spend Pi at participating stores and earn rewards, while businesses can design their own loyalty programs directly within the app to engage with and expand their customer base. Since Starmax’s loyalty system fits naturally into existing store operations, the app has strong potential for real-world adoption, as a potential tool for tens of thousands of merchants integrated with Pi.

Check it out here https://starmax6101.pinet.com/

“Pi creates a clear and accessible environment where people can interact, transact, and grow together. Starmax helps Pioneers discover Pi-friendly businesses, earn rewards and support high quality brands. For merchants, it creates a transparent growth engine based on rewards, appreciation and trust. As brands grow, new Pioneers benefit, and the cycle reinforces itself.”
– Starmax team

The third place winner of Pi Hackathon 2025 is RUN FOR PI, a fast-paced runner game that incorporates Pi directly into its in-game economy.
https://youtube.com/shorts/a1XagHWl8bM?feature=share

RUN FOR PI stood out for demonstrating a clear, practical use of Pi within the game’s core economy, aligning with Pi’s emphasis on the gaming vertical. RUN FOR PI’s strength comes from using Pi in ways that feel purposeful—tying advancement, competitive elements, and replay incentives to Pi-based actions—and from tapping into the Pi community for user acquisition while providing entertainment utility for Pioneers.

Check it out here
https://runpi2258.pinet.com/

“My gaming app aims to make a meaningful difference for Pioneers by providing real-world utility for the Pi cryptocurrency within fun, interactive environments via social dynamics such as competitive leaderboard, offering hours of daily user engagement, and collecting and spending on game items. Ultimately, the goal is to create a positive feedback loop where games drive utility, utility drives engagement, and engagement strengthens the entire Pi’s ecosystem.”
– RUN FOR PI team

The Pi Testnet DEX and AMM liquidity pool features have been updated to improve usability, transparency, and liquidity organization. Updates include a redesigned interface, Pi-denominated trading pairs, domain verification as a trust signal, and a new liquidity-based token ranking system.

These changes are based on initial usage, testing, and Pioneer feedback, subject to change as usage continues to be evaluated.

https://minepi.com/blog/dex-amm-update/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dex-amm-update

This holiday season, Pi Network is highlighting the commerce-related apps and local Pi merchants that power Pi commerce in a community holiday event! Learn how to participate here.
https://minepi.com/blog/holiday-commerce-raffle/

Explore the updated Pi Network DEX and AMM on Pi Testnet! The organization and interface updates of the DEX and AMM features improve the overall user experience. This makes it easier for Pioneers to navigate the interface and understand how to use the features, as users continue to test them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJMYbKrdhnE

Happy holidays, Pioneers!

To celebrate, participate in Pi’s community commerce holiday initiative to promote your app or business, discover and shop, and take part in a raffle for a chance to win Pi-branded merch. Also, try out the holiday-themed design update of the FruityPi game.

https://youtube.com/shorts/NynQSKW4DOg

As 2025 comes to a close, Pi remains focused on steady progress, responsible building, and long-term utility creation. Thank you to all Pioneers for being part of the journey, and happy new year! https://minepi.com/blog/pi-2025-year-end/

Read the end of year blog for a look back at Pi’s accomplishments in 2025 and its continued long term strategy.

As the new year starts, it’s time to build! Pi Network has released a new developer library that enables Pi payments to be integrated into Pi apps in under ten minutes. The library combines the Pi SDK and backend APIs into a single setup, reducing integration time across common stacks.

By simplifying payment integration, developers can instead spend more time creating and improving actual products for users, aligning with Pi’s longer term strategy to strengthen and expand Pi’s utility-driven ecosystem. Learn more and check out the documentation and demo videos explaining how to use the library.

https://minepi.com/blog/10-minutes-pi-payments/

Pi App Studio is expanding app creation in 2026 with a new creator event and new features, including an easy, non-technical and interactive way to integrate Pi payments and cost-free route for app deployments.

For the event, Pioneers can complete a short survey, and the first 1,000 qualified responses will receive 5 Pi credits for the respondent to use only in the App Studio. These updates lower barriers to app creation, increase experimentation and iteration, and support the creation of more useful App Studio apps and Pi utility.

https://minepi.com/blog/app-studio-event-payments-ads/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=app-studio-event

Pi App Studio now supports in-app payment integration—initially using Test-Pi—which helps enable App Studio apps to contribute to Pi’s utility through integrating Pi payments in their app experiences.

Watch the video walkthrough to learn more!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Jb4XlsRTPIE

Pioneers can now deploy their app iterations in Pi App Studio without having to pay Pi, by watching ads. This option enables more Pioneers—especially those who are not yet Mainnet-migrated and are unable to pay Pi—to experiment, learn, and create apps without being limited by migration status or Pi balance.

Learn more
https://minepi.com/blog/app-studio-event-payments-ads/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=app-studio-event

Integrating Pi payments in an app normally requires time and technical expertise from developers. Pi App Studio turned the complexity of payments integration into simple, non-technical and interactive steps in its app creation workflows for creators, enabling them to benefit from Pi payments integration just like developers can.

This marks an important step toward not only enabling non-technical people to create and own functional apps, but also generating creator monetization incentives and fostering sustainable business models for App Studio apps.

Learn more
https://minepi.com/blog/app-studio-event-payments-ads/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=app-studio-event

Nearly 2.5 million Pioneers in certain regions are unblocked by a new technical update to migrate to Mainnet, if they’ve completed the Mainnet Checklist and are active in mining. Over 700,000 additional accounts can also soon submit KYC applications! With these updates, more people are able to participate in the Mainnet ecosystem. Pi has reached 16 million Mainnet migrated Pioneers overall, distinguishing Pi as a massive identity-verified blockchain. Complete your KYC and Mainnet Checklist steps as needed to ensure your account is prepared for next steps.

https://minepi.com/blog/migration-kyc-palm-print/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=palm

KYC validator rewards distribution continues to make progress in line with the previously announced timeline! Its design was finalized, implementation was completed, and currently the work is being tested. Testing is incredibly important, as it affects the distribution of Pi payments to KYC validators for their work in the KYC process of millions of Pioneers. The target remains deployment by the end of this quarter (March 2026).

Every First Friday of February (FFF day), Pi celebrates Moderator Appreciation Day! Today is about recognizing the moderators who make the Pi Network community what it is. Thanks to all Pi moderators for their incredible volunteer efforts in supporting the Pi community—assisting Pioneers, translating content, managing Pi Chats, answering questions, and more. https://youtu.be/RDMES5HLAUw

Watch the celebration video and remember to thank Pi moderators for their hard work and commitment to Pi’s global community!

Important reminder for Nodes: The Pi Mainnet blockchain protocol is currently undergoing a series of upgrades. The deadline for the first upgrade step is February 15. All Mainnet nodes must complete this step to remain connected to the network. More information is available here https://minepi.com/pi-node/

Network Update: Protocol v19.6 migration successfully completed ✅ Next up is v19.9 — the final step before v20. Node operators should make sure they’re upgraded and stay tuned for further instructions: https://minepi.com/pi-node/

Happy first anniversary of Open Network!

To celebrate this milestone, Pi Founders Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis dive deeper into Pi’s strategy, approach, and current work since Open Network—while also providing greater visibility into the direction and priorities guiding Pi’s continued development, including Pi’s ecosystem tokens design on Mainnet, KYC as a service, and AI.

Watch the full video to learn more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYihqhAcMRQ

Read the Open Network anniversary blog for a high level overview on Pi’s strategy, approach, and current work since Open Network!

https://minepi.com/blog/open-network-anniversary/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=on-anniversary

Pi has released specific details on the Ecosystem Token Design on Pi Network as a Pi Request for Comment (PRC) to the community. Learn more about ecosystem token design here, and read the GitHub page for further details. https://minepi.com/blog/open-network-anniversary/#ecosystem-token-design-mainnet

Feedback is welcome, and Pioneers are encouraged to comment, discuss with other community members and share specific suggestions on specific sections of the design using GitHub features like issues or pull requests. For those who do not have a GitHub account, a Google Form is also available to submit high-level feedback.

Since the launch of Open Network, Pi has continued expanding across multiple dimensions of the ecosystem—from KYC and Mainnet migrations to developer activity and overall network participation. These milestones reflect the steady progress made possible through the collective contributions of Pioneers, developers, businesses, and KYC validators around the world.

Check out some of the key ecosystem growth metrics achieved during the past year since Open Network launched!