Pi Network, a well-known cryptocurrency project launched in 2018, has been drawing the attention of enthusiasts and onlookers. However, a major concern within the network is its transition from the closed mainnet to being listed on major exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and Coinbase.
The prolonged anticipation for this launch has led to the emergence of several competitors in the form of tap-to-earn Telegram games, which provide users with free crypto tokens.
Pi Network has been a success.
Publicly available data shows that Pi Network has been a great success, attracting over 50 million users worldwide. The Pi Browser and related apps have also had millions of downloads in the past few months.
For starters, Pi Network is a platform aimed at solving the long-standing mining difficulty in the crypto industry. The challenge was that it took a lot of work to mine coins like Bitcoin and Kaspa, which require substantial mining resources.
Its solution was to create a mobile application where users could mine tokens using their smartphones. To start mining, users just needed an invite and a smartphone.
After this, these users will be able to convert their Pi Coins into fiat currencies when they are listed in exchanges. The challenge is that this process has taken what seems like an eternity.
The developers have justified the delay by arguing that it was important to ensure the network’s integrity. As such, they are working on KYC, which ensures that every Pi Holder is identified, a move that will remove bots and malicious actors.
The other important step is that the developers hope to build a robust ecosystem that will give the Pi token utility. This ecosystem will include areas like e-commerce and even non-fungible tokens (NFT).
Still, it is unclear whether Pi Network pioneers are interested in this ecosystem part. In an interview with some of them, it became clear that their goal of mining Pi Coin was to make money when it finally moved to crypto exchanges.
Telegram competition rises
Against this backdrop, Pi Network has seen substantial competition from Telegram mini apps like Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, and TapSwap.
These apps, such as Pi, allow users to mine tokens by simply tapping a button and participating in simple activities like watching YouTube videos, following on Twitter, and referring friends. The key difference is that these apps are built on Telegram, while Pi Network is directly accessible from the Play Store or the App Store.
These Telegram mini-apps have become trendy. In just a month, Hamster Kombat has accumulated over 200 million users, its YouTube channel has over 30 million subscribers, and its videos have been watched over 500 million times.
TapSwap is also growing, with its users reaching over 60 million and daily users reaching over 20 million. Notcoin, which launched its airdrop recently, has a market cap of over $1.5 billion.
The benefit of tapping these tokens is that, unlike Pi Network, they will launch their airdrops soon and make it easy for people to exchange them for fiat currencies.
