TL;DR

The controversial yet highly popular cryptocurrency project made a big announcement last week about the beginning of a new event. Heres why today (August 21) is a crucial date for all ecosystem participants.

Here It Comes

CryptoPotato reported over the weekend about the next big thing in the development of the entire Pi Network ecosystem. For the first time since the launch of the Open Network earlier this year, the team behind the project has organized a Hackathon, which will allow users to receive rewards in the form of the native token.

As of August 15, the platform opened for new registrations. Each team can be comprised of an unlimited number of people, but all members have to pass the Pi Network know-your-customer procedures to receive the prizes.

Whats particularly important about today, August 21, is the fact that this is the date the Hackathon begins. As the team explained, the event starts today and will run for almost two months, with the final submission due on October 15. There will be an optional midpoint check-in scheduled for September 19.

Pi Hackathon 2025 participants: are you ready to build and deploy meaningful Pi Apps that empower real-world utility using Pi and help shape the ecosystem—and compete for a chance to win up to 160,000 Pi in total prizes?https://t.co/QpZOOsY5yl

The idea behind this event is to encourage Pioneers to develop and build applications that enhance the native tokens usability, ranging from payments and services to creative, community-driven solutions. All PI-powered apps must comply with the Mainnet Listing Guidelines and deliver tangible value to the community.

Users are allowed and even encouraged to use some of the native Pi Network tools, such as the Brainstorm App, the Developer Portal, and the recently released Pi App Studio.

The Prizes

As this might be the most important part of the Hackathon for many users, we will focus on the actual tangible rewards that the first up to eight teams will be eligible to receive. There will be judges who will evaluate the apps based on PI utility, long-term potential, UI/UX, alignment with community needs, and more. All apps must be uploaded to the Pi Developer Portal and include a demo video and a submission form.

In total, the Core Team will give away 160,000 PI tokens in the following manner:

1st Place – 75,000 Pi 2nd Place – 45,000 Pi 3rd Place – 15,000 Pi Honorable Mentions (up to 5 teams) – 5,000 Pi each Given the significance of today for the event and all participants who want to join, Pi Networks token has jumped by 2.5% despite the broader markets sell-off. PI has tapped $0.36, which is over 7% higher than the all-time low marked on August 6. Nevertheless, the asset remains 88% south from its ATH registered in late February.