Plian (PI), formerly known as PCHAIN, is the native utility token of the Plian Network—a multi-chain smart contract platform designed to improve scalability and interoperability across blockchain applications. Originally launched as PCHAIN, Plian was developed to support enterprise-scale decentralised applications (dApps) by addressing limitations in transaction throughput, data integration, and cross-chain functionality.

The Plian Network introduces a native multi-chain architecture that includes a main chain and multiple side chains. This structure enables parallel processing and supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), making it compatible with Solidity-based smart contracts. PI is issued as a cryptographically secured utility token and initially launched as an ERC-20 token, later migrating to the native Plian chain.

The PI token serves several key functions within the Plian ecosystem:

• Transaction Fees: PI is used as “fuel” for executing transactions and smart contracts across the Plian Network. Users must pay in PI to use computational resources on the network.

• Incentive Mechanism: PI is distributed to nodes that participate in block validation and consensus processes as a reward for their work.

• Cross-chain Smart Contract Invocation: The platform allows non-native tokens (e.g. BCH, ERC-20) to call Plian smart contracts through a toolkit that converts external tokens into PI for transaction execution.

• DApp Deployment and Operation: Developers use PI to deploy dApps and interact with platform services, such as knowledge graphs and smart data infrastructure.

• Staking and Governance: PI is staked to participate in network governance and may be used to validate transactions under the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

Plian (originally PCHAIN) was developed by a global team of researchers and engineers led by Dr Feng Cao.

Although 'PI' was the ticker assigned at the deployment of the Plian token's smart contract, it is in use by another asset that has a larger market presence and higher trading volume on major exchanges. Due to this association and to avoid confusion in the marketplace, the alternative ticker 'PLIAN' has been adopted for this token. This designation is specifically used to ensure that assets are distinctly identified.