Pi Network confirmed its sponsorship of Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 5 to 7, with co-founders Dr. Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis each scheduled to speak at the Convergence Stage, marking the project’s most prominent mainstream industry appearance as its Protocol 23 smart contract launch on May 11 approaches. Summary Dr. Chengdiao Fan speaks May 6 on aligning Web3, AI, and blockchain for utility, while Nicolas Kokkalis joins a May 7 panel titled “How to Prove You’re Human in an AI World (Without Doxing Yourself)” at the Convergence Stage. Pi Network has completed over 526 million human KYC validation tasks across 18 million verified users, positioning it as one of the largest proof-of-personhood networks in crypto and a direct competitor to Worldcoin and Humanity Protocol. The Consensus sponsorship and founder appearances land six days before Protocol 23 activates on May 11, the most significant upgrade in Pi’s history, introducing full smart contract functionality. Pi Network confirmed it is an official sponsor of Consensus 2026 in Miami. As crypto.news reported, both co-founders are scheduled as named speakers at the Convergence Stage, with Dr. Fan addressing the intersection of verified identity and the AI era and Dr. Kokkalis joining a panel directly on the problem of distinguishing real humans from AI-generated accounts online. The event runs May 5 to 7 and is expected to draw over 20,000 attendees including institutional investors, developers, and government representatives. The Pi Core Team posted on April 28: “526 million human KYC validation tasks have already been completed on Pi. By over 1 million verified people. AI is advancing quickly. But the hardest part of building reliable systems is still deeply human.” Fan’s Consensus session positions that verified infrastructure as a direct answer to one of the most pressing AI governance challenges of 2026. As crypto.news documented, Protocol 22.1 deadline passed April 27, disconnecting non-compliant nodes and laying the technical foundation for Protocol 23. The May 11 Protocol 23 date creates a concentrated sequence: the largest public stage appearance in Pi’s history on May 6 and 7, followed four days later by the upgrade that transforms Pi from a mobile mining network into a programmable blockchain. As crypto.news tracked, PI climbed more than 5% on April 29 as traders positioned ahead of the Consensus week, with the token’s pattern of conference-driven price moves followed by selloffs a recurring dynamic the Protocol 23 substance will need to break.
