Hope rises for ‘miners’ as Kano restaurant begins accepting Pi digital currency

After the delusions, expectations, belief and mockery, hope has begun to rise for Pi network miners, as a restaurant in Kano state has begun accepting the digital currency to sell food.

It is a matter of less than a minute to transfer the digital currency and savour the aroma of variety of foods at the restaurant, called Nafagode, located at Dandago area in Kano Municipal, in the city of Kano.

According to a website called The Motley Fool, Pi Network,  is like a combination of a digital currency, an app, and a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme.

The hook for Pi is that one can mine it on mobile phone. Other cryptocurrencies that use mining, most notably Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), require much more processing power, so most miners use specialized devices.

Pi, which has managed to build 33 million users, is however mined in the Pi Network app, and the mining process only requires a tap a button on user’s phone every 24 hours. It’s technically not crypto mining since there’s no mining going on. In reality, a subscriber is receiving PI coin vouchers for using the app once per day and proving you’re not a robot.

Bizpoint gathered that each one Pi is valued at N130 million at official rate, while it is N180 million at parallel market (High Consensus Price), while it is N223,000 (Low Consensus Price).

Bizpoint understands that in Nigeria, a battle line has been drawn on social media between the believers of Pi digital currency and their mockers, those who do not believe in it.

It is also understood that social media platforms have been awashed with videos of some young people, expressing dreams of becoming “crazily” rich if they harvest the Pi they are mining.

This newspaper also notice that the videos are greeted with mockery,  especially by facebook users, who think that the Pi network miners are doing nothing but delusions about the money that will never become real.

However, any Pi miner would be elated with the story that a restaurant is accepting the digital currency in Kano, the commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria.

When BizPoint visited the restaurant, it became apparent that the eatery is doing business with Pi network.

The building had been wrapped with banners, carrying huge Pi symbols, an indication that the restaurant is accepting the currency.

Speaking to BizPoint reporter, owner of the restaurant, Alhaji Umar Muhammad Nafagode said he had launched business with Pi network on 25 August, 2022.

He said he accepts Pi currency to sell different variety of food, including rice, pounded yam, spaghetti, yam, shawarma, pepper soup, among others.

According to him, any Pi network miner, who come to buy food at the restaurant, can get his meal and pay with Pi digital currency.

“We have started accepting Pi network since 25 August, 2022, when we are officially directed to commence business with Pi. I think I am the first person in Kano, or even Nigeria to start accepting Pi network in my business.

According to him, there are some businessmen that started the business with him but could not continue due to improper plan to make it sustainable.

Nafagode explained that if he collect Pi to sell his food, he would use naira to buy food items at market to cook another food because the digital currency has not been in use in the country, adding that he would also save the Pi he realized from customers in his wallet to continue mining it.

According to him, that is the reason why he had decided to limit of customers to buy the food use Pi, adding that, “that is why i do not reveal the price to sell of food in order to limit the number of customers.”

He also explained that he is not selling the food at a particular price of Pi because it is always the market that determines its exchange rate.

On the challenges he is facing, Nafagode said the main challenge is that people do not believe in Pi network, that is why, according to him, is not acceptable in Kano and Nigeria as a whole.

Asked if the Pi network is paid physically as naira, Nafagode said it is paid through a mobile application via a transfer system, adding that “we have a system, connected with internet to receive the payment and deliver the food to our esteemed customers. Let me tell you that Pi network transfer is faster and easier than bank naira transfer.”

On if he realized profits since the launch of Pi transactions, Nafagode noted that ot is premature to start counting profit as it is a “long-term project”.

He continued ” the Pi management tell us that whoever needs quick money should not invest in Pi. We have started this project for about three years, but many of us have given up despite their unflinching belief in it.

“So, to me, it is premature to started talking about profit. The profit will come when it is due,” he said.

He lamented that Pi miners are seen by many as mad people who have invested their future in an unreal business, noting that other developed countries had already gone far in using the digital currency, citing Singapore where he said, a shopping mole is reportedly running business solely on Pi network.

“Pi is like the newly introduced e-Naira. Pi would lead the e-money market. So, is not a matter of mockery,” he said.

Some of the customers who came to buy food with Pi, spoke to BizPoint correspondent.

Abdulkarim Usman Idris said he was at the restaurant to enjoy his Pi network fortune, saying that he is a firm believer of the prospect of the digital currency.

According to Idris, he had been mining the Pi but did not know where to spend it until what he described as “an opportunity” for him to enjoy it.

“I am mining it with no idea of where to spend it until when i het the story that in Dandago area, there is a place where Pi is accepted to buy foodike rice and chicken.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on people to accept the fact that Pi network is real and acceptable,” he said.

Another customer, Sunusi Auwal Sunusi, who opened the application to transfer the Pi for rice, salad and chicken, said he was there to enjoy his long-term saving.

“I have been mining  Pi for about one-and-a-half year. I did not totally believe in it until now that it became real. That is why I have now attachd more importance to it.

“I call on people to start mining Pi and even those that started, and stopped, should continue because i forsee bright future in Pi,” Sunusi said.