Pi Network is more than a fork of Stellar. Pi inherits Stellar's core technology (the ledger, the SCP consensus protocol, and the transaction model) and builds its own layers on top: the Pi SDK, Pi Browser, Pi Desktop, a two-step payment approval flow through the Pi App Platform, and a KYC identity system. One notable difference is the trust graph: according to Pi's documentation, users' Security Circles help Pi Nodes form trust groups for consensus. With these layers, Pi is a product aimed at end users, with an experience and operating model that differ from Stellar's. PERSONAL OPINION: At a certain stage of development, Pi Network may fully decouple from Stellar's technology. ----- Pi Network and Stellar: Similarities and Differences I. Vision and approach Both projects share the goal of expanding global access to finance, but they start from different places. Stellar: starting from infrastructure and institutions - Mission: open-source financial infrastructure that lets individuals and institutions move money quickly and at very low cost. - Development model: build from the infrastructure level, then grow the network through strategic partners such as UNDP, MoneyGram and UNHCR. - Strategic focus: cross-border payments and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Pi Network: starting from end users and a P2P ecosystem - Mission: a universal digital currency that is as accessible as possible to ordinary people, with less dependence on traditional financial intermediaries. - Development model: build a user community and a peer-to-peer (P2P) economy around real applications first. Combining Blockchain with AI - Institutions and RWA: Pi does not rule out institutional connections or RWA tokenization, but treats them as a later stage, and any such integration must serve users and the growth of the Pi ecosystem. II. Technical and product differences 1. Consensus and the trust graph - Stellar: validators set up their own trust groups (quorum slices). An academic study from around 2019 found Stellar's quorum structure to be highly concentrated and influenced by a few key nodes, so it may not reflect the network today. - Pi Network: Pi uses SCP but changes where trust comes from. According to Pi, users' Security Circles from the mobile app form a global trust graph that helps Pi Nodes form quorum slices. Pi has said its Testnet initially had a centralized layer at the blockchain level for faster testing, so the real role of Security Circles on Mainnet cannot yet be independently verified. 2. Identity and distribution - Stellar: a pure blockchain protocol, with no mining and no KYC at the network level. - Pi Network: an integrated product model, with a mobile app for mining through Security Circles, a broad KYC system, and Pi Desktop software for desktop (including the Pi Node, Pi App, Solohost...). Passing KYC is required to move mined Pi from the phone balance to the Mainnet wallet. 3. Payment flow - Stellar: payments are direct. The user signs a transaction and submits it to the network. Third-party apps can add their own servers, but the protocol does not require it. - Pi Network: payments go through the Pi App Platform with a two-way verification flow: 1. The app frontend calls `Pi.createPayment`. 2. The backend calls the `/approve` API and receives a `paymentDTO`. 3. The Pioneer confirms the transaction in the Pi Wallet. 4. The blockchain processes it and reports back to the Pi App Platform. 5. The backend calls the `/complete` API with the transaction ID (txID) and receives a `paymentDTO` again.