What is PiRC2? Pi Network Subscription Contract API Explained
July 27, 2026
Overview
PiRC2 (Pi Request for Comments #2) is Pi Network's first smart contract specification, published by Pi Core Team CTO Nicolas Kokkalis in April 2026. PiRC2 defines a Soroban-based Subscription Contract API — enabling merchants and users to establish automatic recurring payment subscriptions on the Pi blockchain.
PiRC2's core innovation leverages Soroban's token allowance mechanism, allowing subscription payments without requiring the user to re-sign each time, while funds remain in the subscriber's wallet and are only transferred at the time of actual billing. This solves the core challenge of recurring payments on traditional blockchains.
The subscription contract went live on Pi Testnet in April 2026, open for developer testing. The reference implementation (source code) is in the contracts/subscription/ directory of the PiNetwork/SmartContracts repository. Community review and external security audits are ongoing — mainnet deployment will follow after successful audit completion. OrbitWatch tracks all PiRC2 document updates in the PiNetwork/PiRC repository.
Technical Specification
Subscription Model
- Merchant service registration with configurable pricing
- Subscriber opt-in with or without upfront commitment
- Pre-approved token allowance via Soroban allowance mechanism
Billing & Lifecycle
- Periodic charge processing without re-signing
- Expiration ledger for budget horizon control
- Subscription pause, resume, and cancellation flows
Smart Contract
- Soroban-based reference implementation
- transfer_from allowance draw-down per billing event
- External audit in progress (PiNetwork/SmartContracts)
Governance
- Community RFC via GitHub Issues
- Core Team ratification process
- Open-source reference implementation
Timeline
| Date | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-17 | PiRC2 specification published by Pi CTO (Nicolas Kokkalis) | ✅ Done |
| 2026-04 | Community RFC process started — GitHub Issues open | ✅ Done |
| 2026-04 | Subscription contract launched on Pi Testnet for developer testing | ✅ Done |
| TBD | External smart contract audit completed | ⏳ In Progress |
| TBD | Subscription Contract mainnet deployment | ⏳ Pending |
Key Points
- •PiRC2 is Pi Network's first Soroban smart contract spec; subscription contract launched on Testnet in April 2026
- •Funds remain in the user's wallet at all times, only transferred at actual billing — solving blockchain recurring payment challenges
- •External security audit ongoing; mainnet deployment date pending