Speaking on May 16 at the Coindesk Consensus 2025 event in Toronto, Canada, he said: “I am not here to talk about technology today; I am here to talk about trust. “Together, we are building not just a cryptocurrency, but a global ecosystem.”
He spoke as part of a panel on “AI+Blockchain Infra to Unleash Mainstream Adoption” during which he discussed the platform’s ecosystem potential, its development history and how new technologies often require time before achieving widespread adoption.
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Nicolas Kokkalis, co-founder of Pi Network. Photo from Pi Network |
He emphasized that know your customer identity verification is essential for the success of blockchain projects. He acknowledged that Pi Network has not yet become an open network, noting that the focus is not simply on going open but on doing so correctly, with identity safeguards and fraud prevention systems and creating a platform where Pi can be truly usable.
Kokkalis co-founded Pi Network in 2019 with Chengdiao Fan and Vincent McPhillip. He serves as head of technology, while Fan leads product development. McPhillip, who was in charge of community engagement, left the project in February 2021.
Although often described as a Stanford Ph.D., Kokkalis has remained largely out of the public eye. His X account contains only four posts, two from 2013 and two from 2021. Aside from a brief appearance in a Pi Network app video in June 2022, he had not appeared publicly until the recent event.
His presence at Consensus 2025 was highly anticipated by the Pi community. However, many users expressed disappointment on social media, saying he did not address the token’s value or offer concrete updates on expanding the ecosystem.
Pi’s price has experienced sharp volatility in recent days. On May 15 it plunged by over 50% from US$1.69 to $0.95 after the project announced a new venture fund and foundation instead of the long-promised Pi ecosystem, an update many users saw as “testing their patience.” After Kokkalis’s brief appearance, it dropped a further 25% to $0.72.
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Nicolas Kokkalis (L), co-founder of Pi, made an appearance at the Coindesk Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Canda on May 16, 2025. Photo from Coindesk Consensus |
Like Kokkalis, co-founder Fan also keeps a low profile. Her X account, linked on Pi Network’s website, shows no activity. The project’s official X account however posts two to three times a week.
Pi was marketed as a platform allowing users to earn free cryptocurrency by tapping a lightning icon on its mobile app daily.
Vietnam is among the platform’s most active markets. The project has been controversial, taking nearly six years to launch its mainnet before finally allowing users to transfer Pi to exchanges for trading on Feb. 20 this year.
Despite claiming to have entered the open network phase, Pi is still considered incomplete by industry observers due to the lack of smart contract support and open-source code. Recent updates have included domain name auctions, the PiFest shopping feature and a few minor applications.
