Pi Network - Blockchain ID Specification

Author Hakkyung Lee
Discussions-To https://github.com/ChainAgnostic/namespaces/pull/199
Status Draft
Type Informational
Created 2026-08-19
Requires CAIP-2

Table of Contents

CAIP-2

For context, see the CAIP-2 specification.

Introduction

This document specifies the pinet namespace for Pi Network chain identifiers that conform to CAIP-2.

Pi Network operates Mainnet and Testnet as separate networks with distinct network passphrases.

Specification

Semantics

The chain_id is a human-readable identifier for a Pi Network environment.

The following references and network passphrases are defined:

CAIP-2 chain ID Pi Network environment Exact network passphrase
pinet:mainnet Pi Network Mainnet Pi Network
pinet:testnet Pi Network Testnet Pi Testnet

Network passphrases are case-sensitive.

Syntax

The namespace is pinet.

The reference is either mainnet or testnet.

The complete chain ID MUST match the following regular expression:

^pinet:(mainnet|testnet)$

Resolution Mechanics

An implementation resolves a candidate Pi Network Horizon endpoint by sending an HTTP GET request to its root path and reading the network_passphrase field from the JSON response.

For example (mainnet):

$ curl https://api.mainnet.minepi.com/

An abridged Mainnet response contains:

{
  "network_passphrase": "Pi Network"
}

For example (testnet):

$ curl https://api.testnet.minepi.com/

An abridged Testnet response contains:

{
  "network_passphrase": "Pi Testnet"
}

The implementation MUST compare the returned value exactly and case-sensitively.

The implementation MUST resolve Pi Network to pinet:mainnet.

The implementation MUST resolve Pi Testnet to pinet:testnet.

The implementation MUST reject an unrecognized network passphrase instead of inferring a chain ID.

Implementations MAY use another trusted endpoint that exposes the same Horizon root response.

Rationale

Pi Network constitutes a separate ecosystem with its own networks, governance, validators, native asset, public infrastructure, and network passphrases.

Human-readable references were selected because Pi Network’s exact, case-sensitive network passphrases provide deterministic resolution.

Backwards Compatibility

There are no previously standardized CAIP-2 identifiers for Pi Network chains.

Applications using non-standard identifiers will need to map them to pinet:mainnet or pinet:testnet.

Test Cases

The following chain IDs are valid:

pinet:mainnet
pinet:testnet

The following values are invalid:

pi:mainnet
pinet:pubnet
pinet:Mainnet
pinet:Pi Testnet

pi:mainnet is invalid because pi does not satisfy the minimum namespace length required by CAIP-2.

The other invalid values do not match a reference defined by this specification.

Additional Considerations

Future Pi Network environments require an update to this document and deterministic resolution mechanics before receiving a pinet chain reference.

References

  • CAIP-2 - Defines the chain-agnostic blockchain identifier format.
  • CAIP-104 - Defines the purpose and authoring guidelines for namespace references.
  • Pi Whitepaper - Introduces the Pi Network protocol and ecosystem.
  • Pi Developer Documentation - Documents Pi Network application and blockchain integration.
  • Pi Mainnet Horizon - Exposes the Mainnet Horizon root response used for resolution.
  • Pi Testnet Horizon - Exposes the Testnet Horizon root response used for resolution.

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.

Citation

Please cite this document as:

Hakkyung Lee, "namespaces/pinet-caip2: Pi Network - Blockchain ID Specification [DRAFT]," Chain Agnostic Namespaces, pinet-caip2, August 2026 / . [Online serial]. Available: https://github.com/ChainAgnostic/namespaces/pinet-caip2.md