Main to remember
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Pi Coin was finally put online on Open Mainnet in February 2025, unlocking the use of the real world after years in closed beta.
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You can spend Pi Coin, but especially in P2P communities and the Pi applications verified by KYC – traditional adoption is still in its infancy.
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Pi is now negotiable on several CEXs, such as OKX, Bitget and Mexc, but Binance has still not listed it despite 2 million people + user voters who put pressure for the list.
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The adoption of merchants increases slowly, with real goods and services exchanged against PI on localized markets and ecosystems based on applications.
Often described as a crypto for people, PI is a decentralized project that works without the need for GPU or gas costs. But five years since its launch of Mainnet closed in 2021, the question to a million dollars is still in the air: Can you really buy something with Pi Coin in 2025?
Let’s dive into the conviviality of the real world of the PI network and answer what each Pi minor and curious cryptography observer wonders: Does Pi Coin work in real life, or is it always just theoretical digital dust?
What is Pi Coin, and what stimulates attention around him in 2025?
Launched in March 2019 by a trio of Stanford PHDs – Nicolas Kokkalis, Fan of Chengdiao and Vincent McPhillip – The PI network has decided to solve one of the basic problems of crypto: accessibility.
Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which require specialized equipment to operate, Pi Coin has been designed to be extracted directly from a smartphone, without battery or data drainage. The idea? Democratize the beetle crypto of your hand.
The PI network has quickly become viral, spreading through a mine only an invitation which created a feeling of exclusivity and social virality. By 2021, the application had exceeded 20 million committed users, or “pioneers”, and at the end of 2023, this number would have reached 47 million, which makes it one of the largest pre-Gainnet cryptographic communities in the world.
Here is a quick chronology of key moments:
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March 2019: The PI network launches a beta version of its application on Android and iOS.
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2020-2021: User growth accelerates through references; The PI phases move to Testnet.
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December 2021: Mainnet Clost is online; Pi transactions remain in the ecosystem.
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2022-2024: More than 100 PI applications are designed for tests in the closed economy.
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February 2025: Pi Network officially launches its open Mainnet, allowing a blockchain interaction with the outside world.
This long -awaited Mainnet movement opened the doors of the PI room (PI) to list on centralized exchanges (CEX) and used outside its sandbox – finally bringing the project of its objective to become a real digital currency for daily use.
From an ambitious student project to one of the most downloaded cryptographic applications of all time, the Network Pi trip was anything but ordinary. But now that the technology is live and exchangeable, the big question is: Can you really use Pi Coin to buy things?
Did you know? More than 2 million users voted for Binance to indicate the PI room – and yet Binance remained completely silent. Despite the PI network with 47 million users and a fully launched mainly, the largest exchange in the world has not moved. For what? Some say it is a lack of decentralization. Others indicate the controlled KYC deployment. Anyway, it is a reminder that in crypto, even a viral army cannot force the guards to open the doors.
Where can you buy Pi Coin in 2025?
After the launch of the Open Mainnet of Pi Network in February 2025, Pi Coin became available to negotiate on several exchanges of cryptocurrency. In April 2025, Pi Coin was listed on the following exchanges:
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OKX: One of the first to list Pi, offering trading pairs such as PI / USDT.
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Bitget: Provides Pi trading with liquid and friendly interfaces.
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Mexc: Another early adopter, supporting trading pi pairs.
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Bitmart: Supports trading pi, although some announcements can be ius.
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HTX (formerly Huobi): Has listed Pi, although it is based on the Iou lists.
Despite community efforts, including more than 2 million votes in favor, Binance did not list the PI play in April 2025. The concerns about compatibility, transparency and the regulatory problems of blockchain were presented as reasons of hesitation.
Did you know? Many Pi parts ads on exchanges are actually Ius, which is not the real deal. These “I owe you” tokens are speculative reserved spaces that are not supported by the Mainnet Pi, which means that you cannot remove or use them in the ecosystem of the PI network. It’s like exchanging a cinema ticket for a film that has not even been created yet. Always check if you buy the real pi token or just a promise.
What can you really buy with Pi Coin?
Here is where things become real (or not so real). Although you may not buy a Tesla with Pi (again), the PI community has documented purchases such as:
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T-shirts, cups and telephone accessories
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Independent graphic design services
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Electronics and basic gadgets
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Food, drinks and small restaurant meals (in localized Pi events)
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Handicrafts and collectibles made by hand.
The capture? Most of these transactions occur through social media groups, telegrams cats or ecosystem PI applications such as Pi Browser and Pi Chat. These platforms act as informal markets, often based on confidence and reputation rather than formal entire systems.
Thus, while Pi is not entirely ready for prime time in the main retail environments, it East Operation – in a local and community -focused manner. Consider it more as a barter system with Crypto Flair than a fully integrated payment network. For the moment, at least.
List of Pi network merchants – Done or fiction?
If you are looking for “accepted Pi Coin stores” on Google, hoping a list of your favorite retailers, you will be disappointed.
There is no official list of merchants Pi Network which guarantees where PI is accepted. Instead, adoption is the basis and very localized. A group of pioneers Pi in Indonesia could be able to buy food with Pi, while another in Vietnam uses it for mobile data recharges. But it is difficult to follow, standardize or check.
The adoption of merchants is still precocious – but is gaining ground.
Now that the Open Pi Network Mainnet is live, the conversation no longer concerns “IF” Pi integrates into the wider cryptography ecosystem – this is the speed at which it can on board real merchants and use cases.
A promising trend is the rise in power of the apps checked by your customer (KYC), the platforms that force users and businesses to finish identity verification before participating in the PI economy. This confidence layer helps the PI network to build a more legitimate commercial environment, where traders feel more confident by accepting the PI part as payment.
In the months following the open Mainnet launch, the developers and the Network PI community focused on scaling real world integrations, which include:
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Local companies in countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines accept IP for goods and services.
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Pi Chain Mall and other markets allow digital trade in PI.
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Third-party integrations are tested to connect PI with decentralized funding protocols (DEFI), cross-bridges and non-tumbled tokens (NFT) platforms.
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PI Browser and PI applications allow Decentralized Applications (DAPP) to launch new services compatible with payments using MAINNET PI.
With more than 100 PI applications already built during the TESTNET phase – and a global army of users verified by KYC – PI Network now has the tools to develop a real and scalable economy. Whether it turns into an animated merchant network or a niche payment layer depends on what the community then builds.
That said, there is an increasing interest in the integration of merchants via pipped KYC applications, referring to a slow but potentially scalable adoption model.
From now on, with the Open Mainnet Live, PI should also launch integrated DEFI protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEX) and NFT markets. If these integrations succeed, cases of serious use beyond the PI bubble could be unlocked.
Did you know? During Pifest 2025, more than 1.8 million users engaged In transactions using Pi Coin through 58,000 active merchants worldwide. This event presented the growing adoption of the real world of the PI network and its potential to facilitate daily trade.
Is Pi Coin ready for real world payments?
Let’s be honest: Pi Coin is not a visa killer at the moment. He is not ready to fuel world trade or even competing with Bitcoin in Salvador. However, it serves as a test bench for what cryptographic payments could look like when they are motivated by community trust rather than institutional support.
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Think less of it as a universal payment tool and more as a local barter system on cryptographic steroids.
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If the network nipped its deployment of Mainnet opened and widens the integration of the merchant with a real support for conformity and liquidity, 2025 could mark the moment when Pi passes from the fun experience to the real competitor.
Final verdict: Can you buy stuff with Pi Coin?
Yes – But with limits.
You can Spend Pi Coin, but only on certain markets between peers (P2P), stores or pilot programs focused on the community managed by Pi pioneers. The majority still occurs in closed circuits, without the integration of large -scale merchants.
But is this really a problem?
Maybe not. After all, the first days of Bitcoin were not very different – experimental, slots and often rejected.
At the time, the purchase of a pizza with Bitcoin (BTC) was revolutionary. Now the BTC is in the wallets of funds exchanged (ETF) and the corporate treasury.
The fact that the PI network decreases or fades in darkness depends on what is happening next: regulatory clarity and if the network can evolve beyond its internal community.
Believing or skeptical, one thing is certain: the real world test of the pi network economy has only just begun – and the world is watching.
