Pi Network Unlocks 8.7M Tokens as Holiday Commerce Expands Across 125K Merchants

TLDR

Table of Contents

Pi Network unlocked 8.7M tokens during a holiday commerce event, expanding merchant adoption.
Over 125,000 merchants participated in Pi Network’s holiday commerce, accepting PI tokens.
Wallet updates rolled out to users, improving functionality for institutions and individual users.
Pi Network continues to focus on utility and app growth without market-based price discovery.

On December 25, Pi Network unlocked 8.7 million tokens as part of a scheduled release, aligning with its holiday commerce initiative. This event marked another step in Pi’s ongoing ecosystem development, which focuses on user participation rather than speculative trading. With more than 125,000 merchants joining in the event, the release is viewed as a test of network maturity, demonstrating whether increased supply can be absorbed through utility-focused activities rather than open-market trading.

Token Unlock as Part of Ecosystem Expansion

The 8.7 million PI tokens were unlocked to support Pi Network’s growing ecosystem. As Pi Network remains in a closed environment with no confirmed open-market trading or price discovery, the impact of these unlocks is primarily internal.

Token unlocks are part of the broader distribution process based on network participation and milestones. Pi Network continues to emphasize its goal of creating utility-driven applications that encourage long-term engagement rather than short-term trading.

🎄Just today, approximately 8.7 million PI tokens will be unlocked. While some are concerned about the supply, our continuously growing use cases are more than sufficient to handle this supply. With over 125,000 merchants participating in this holiday shopping season event, our… pic.twitter.com/Hs6STdX7QT
— PiNetwork DEX⚡️阿龙 (@fen_leng) December 25, 2025

Despite the release, there were no immediate reports of disruptions. Community updates suggested that the unlock was anticipated and aligned with the scheduled release. Participants in the ecosystem viewed the event as part of a natural progression, showing that Pi’s utility-based applications could absorb additional supply without the pressure of speculative trading.

Holiday Commerce Boosts Merchant Participation

The unlock was accompanied by Pi Network’s expanded holiday commerce initiative, which saw the participation of over 125,000 merchants worldwide. These merchants accepted PI tokens for goods and services, signaling an increased willingness to adopt digital currencies within their payment systems. Pi Network’s role was to coordinate and provide visibility for this seasonal initiative, while merchants handled their own pricing and promotions.

With this level of participation, Pi Network aimed to encourage spending within the ecosystem, leveraging the holiday period to boost engagement. Over 215 active Mainnet applications, including commerce and service platforms, remain in use across Pi Network. These applications focus on real-world utility rather than speculative trading, reinforcing Pi Network’s commitment to driving ecosystem adoption and engagement.

Wallet Updates to Support Ecosystem Growth

Alongside the token unlock, Pi Network rolled out an important wallet update. This update, which reached businesses, institutions, and some individual users, improved the interface and functionality, especially for those managing larger-scale transactions.

While the update has yet to be fully rolled out to all users, early reports from the community suggested a smooth transition with no major issues. The update aimed to enhance the user experience by providing better token displays and updated wallet features, marking another step in Pi’s push to improve its infrastructure ahead of any potential broader integrations.

Despite some community anticipation for a more detailed changelog, the update was framed as a controlled rollout. The Pi Core Team has yet to provide a comprehensive breakdown of all changes, but the updates reflect a commitment to enhancing user experience, particularly for businesses and institutions within the ecosystem.

The Maturity Test: A Shift Towards Utility

The Pi Network’s latest token unlock and its focus on increasing ecosystem utility reflect an ongoing maturation of the network. As Pi continues to develop, its community members are increasingly focused on whether the network can sustain growth through user adoption and participation without relying on speculative trading.

While some members have expressed concerns over the lack of open-market trading, others believe that Pi Network’s emphasis on utility-based applications signals long-term viability.

Without open-market price discovery, Pi Network’s future remains uncertain from a speculative standpoint. However, the ecosystem’s continued growth in terms of active apps, merchant adoption, and wallet functionality indicates that the network is focused on building lasting value.