In my previous post I hinted at a rekindled interest in cryptocurrencies and then seem to have gone into my suspicions about the NFT art market. It's time to balance that with my thoughts about Pi Coin.
Anyone can download and run the Pi Coin app on their mobile phone. Unlike BitCoin mining, you don't need a massive server farm to start earning the coins. There are aspects and critics which might make you think it's a scam but is it? It's unusual for a scam to tell you exactly who is behind it.
One thing Pi has going for it is a link to Pi day (3.14) so every year provides an opportunity for computing professionals and educators to discover the network. It has nothing to do with the Raspberry Pi although I suspect with the right software you could use one to mine the coins since essentially it is the taking part that counts, not the ability to throw powerful computing equipment at it.
I only signed up a couple of days ago but I have already accrued 7 pi and seem to be building the pot up at a rate of 2.4 pi per day. For my part, all I have to do is open an app and click a button once per day. Of course there is no guarantee that my coins will ever be worth anything. Today I have tried 3 times to verify my account by sending a SMS message and each time this has failed. Well I have plenty of free texts and this claims not to add any additional charges so time will tell. There is an option to verify using a Facebook account too but I find Facebooks involvement with analytics companies and sowing trackers all over the web to be against my resistance to them tracking me. Selling my details off without my consent or any form of reward for taking part to their customers just repulses me from using their network. At least with Google I get useful free software so I guess I'm ok with being tracked as long as there is value for me (I have my own cats and don't need Facebook for this :P)
Can Pi Coin create enough worth to accrue value or are these free coins going to be worth less than the Nectar points I pick up without trying at Sainsbury's (a UK supermarket chain for those who might not know). Of course something given away for not much should be viewed as having low value but my previous post explains how I thought the same about BitCoin many years ago and now wish I had backed up the wallet I made way back then. The truth is we don't know for sure. There are clearly a lot of people willing to give it a chance as there are sign-up codes all over the internet for anyone who needs a referral code (which is essentially the nickname of another Pi Coin miner). Does the world actually need another crypto-currency when you can already pick from over 130 which are already established?
I think yes but lets be honest, it's because there are no barriers to earning coins. The reason I would not mine BitCoin now is because I have an understanding that I need a server farm for it to be anywhere near worthwhile and the cost of running that farm might outweigh the returns. I think any future crypto should have the same level of mining for new users that was given to the early adopters with declining returns later on in line with the law of diminishing returns. Now many people are going to ask why should they earn at a lower rate when they gave their support early on when it was most needed? I believe the initial higher interest rate for savings accounts works for mainstream financial institutions for the same reason. People need a reason to buy-in. With crypto maybe a similar approach would counter the MOSFIT mindset (Missed Out So F*** IT). Driving away potential users can't be good for anyone in the long term. The spending power of money in our high street banks is similarly reduced if nobody wants or has confidence in our national currency.
I have read comments about the multi-level-marketing nature of Pi Coin referrals meaning it must be a scam. After all MLM is bad and free coins for being honest about our online identity in this mix must mean it's a scam right? After all you can verify your identity with Facebook who know more about you than the CIA even if you don't have a Facebook account. I remain undecided at this point but will wait until I am asked for whatever is required by their identity verification system. Mainstream banks insist on proof of your identity just the same. If anything, taking this pre-emptive stance adds a bit of credibility these days. I am reminded of how another previous work colleague signed up for a Monzo(?) bank account and they wanted a picture of him holding his bank card for verification. To me this is invasive given modern facial recognition systems. Still, I have my hat, shades and facemask at the ready just in case.
The big question is will Pi Coins ever have value and if so, how much? When people on YouTube are finding ways to trade with them already, there's a chance they will. We can't know how much the Pi network will earn from our data or showing us adverts and how much of that will be eaten away by set-up and running fees but there is potential for some value as the network of verified users expands. Will advertisers switch to an alternative network of Facebook verified users rather than just using Facebook itself? Well they might consider it if they want the attention of people like me. Only time will tell. For now we must wait and see what happens. At least we can use the time to research further and keep an eye on the test ledger while we wait for Pi to go live.
[Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and I am not suggesting you sign-up for the Pi Network or any other crypto-currency network or MLM scheme which is why I am not posting my own referrer code here. I have researched the topic for myself and decided I will give it a go. If anyone reads this and decides for themselves to do the same, you can use a search engine to find a referrer code from the internet - there are loads published and this way I know you are not basing your decision on my ramblings alone which do not constitute or replace proper financial advice]
