According to a Stanford Daily report published on 16th September, the Pi Network – a smartphone-centric cryptocurrency network developed by a bunch of bright graduates from Stanford has already significantly consolidated its user base. Launched in March, it has been able to amass half a million users already.
The minds behind the project
A group of four individuals launched the network. They are – business major Vince McPhilip, anthropologist Chengdiao Fan, and computer scientists Aurelien Schiltz and Nicolas Kokkalis. The program aimed to provide the broader public with disintermediated finance.
The distinctive aspect of this network is that it employs a unique “security circles” ledger for validating users. It also stresses on accessibility, which can explain the mobile-oriented UI.
Unlike other networks, mining isn’t carried out using computer-intensive algorithms. Instead, users act as the platform’s security system by vouching for the trustworthiness of a new user. For this reason, it is much lighter in file-size and can be accessed using a free smartphone app, which doesn’t necessitate too much processing or energy resources.
The social trust mechanism seems to have been working just fine for the network. As more and more people join and verify how much another person can be trusted on the network, a global trust graph is created.
The global trust graph then depicts the dependability of a user to record transactions. As a result, users of the platform can directly participate in crypto mining from their phones, using existing social connections.
The founders of the network do not attribute any inspiration from Stanford University towards the creation of the project. They do, however, recognize the contributions of Professors Michael Bernstein, David Mazieres, and Jan Liphardt towards the development of the same.
The university’s endowment appears to have invested capital into the crypto sector, including it in the same group as other Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale.
Gustavo Fonseca loves anything digital and crypto-related which makes him sit up and pay attention. He got into the world of digital marketing and business digital transformation career in 2010. Some time later he got into Crypto, a dynamically developing segment at the intersection of the financial services and technology. Gustavo joined TheDailyCoins in September 2018.
