Pi Network expanded its Launchpad test with the SLICE token, attracting over 242,000 participants who committed 15.92 million Test-Pi in exchange for 10 million SLICE tokens. The test ran from June 11 to June 28.
This initiative aims to assess the sustainability of liquidity provided by community participants rather than relying on project treasuries for funding. The design intends to provide immediate market liquidity for new applications while minimizing withdrawal risks associated with project fundraising.
Despite the high participation numbers, PI is testing support around $0.08 and has seen a decline in its market value. The SLICE token will not transition to the Mainnet, limiting the test’s implications for the primary PI token.
SLICE’s participation numbers exceeded the previous Launchpad experiment with IRRA, which had 198,000 participants and 14.72 million Test-Pi committed. However, average commitments fell from about 74 Test-Pi per participant in the IRRA test to approximately 66 Test-Pi in the SLICE test, indicating a nearly 12% decline.
The results suggest a wider distribution of participants, but not a proportional increase in capital commitment. This shift aligns with Pi’s goal to democratize access rather than allow larger contributions to dominate the process.
Changes to the participation process may have contributed to the increased participant count. In the prior IRRA experiment, users faced challenges with separate staking and commitment steps. The SLICE Launchpad streamlined these processes, automatically calculating required holds based on selected commitment amounts.
According to Pi Network, larger commitments necessitate proportionally larger holds, which are returned to participants after a specified period. This simplification may have reduced participant drop-off compared to the first experiment.
In contrast to traditional token sales, Pi’s ecosystem model ensures that committed Test-Pi does not go to the issuing project. Instead, these assets are combined with project-supplied tokens and placed into a liquidity pool, which the project cannot access once established.
The ongoing activity in the Launchpad does not necessarily translate into enduring demand for the applications beyond the initial test period. The long-term viability of user engagement remains uncertain.
