[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › PIVX

# PIVX: how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: Open-source peer-to-peer currency with its own blockchain, PoS consensus and masternodes.
- **Issuance**: 10 PIV per block for stakers and masternodes, plus up to 10 PIV per block for the treasury, created only at superblocks for approved proposals.
- **Risks and caveats**: Inflation is ongoing: pivx.org gave about 12.68% a year as of January 2024.
- **Checked**: 1 November 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: PIVX
- **Official site**: [pivx.org](https://pivx.org/)

Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.

## What is PIVX

PIVX is a privacy-focused proof-of-stake blockchain with optional private transactions through its SHIELD protocol. It is open source, community-run and governed through masternode voting on treasury proposals.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Open-source peer-to-peer currency with its own blockchain, PoS consensus and masternodes. |
| Consensus | Proof of stake, with cold and hot staking. |
| Block time | 60 seconds, difficulty re-targeted every block. |
| Privacy | Optional SHIELD transactions based on zk-SNARKs (Sapling, Groth16); users choose shielded or transparent sends. |
| Addresses | Transparent addresses start with D or S; SHIELD addresses start with ps. |
| Masternodes | Second-layer masternodes need 10,000 PIV collateral each. |
| Launched | First core wallet release v1.0.0.0 on 30 January 2016. |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Issuance | 10 PIV per block for stakers and masternodes, plus up to 10 PIV per block for the treasury, created only at superblocks for approved proposals. |
| Staking rewards | 4 PIV per block to the staker and 6 PIV to the masternode owner. |
| Fee burn | All transaction fees are burned. |
| Inflation | Tail emission; about 12.68% a year as of January 2024 per pivx.org, declining toward 0%. |
| Initial distribution | Launched in 2016 with no premine and no ICO, per pivx.org. |

## What PIVX is used for

- PIV is staked to produce blocks and earn rewards.
- 10,000 PIV locks a masternode, which earns rewards and votes on budget proposals.
- Submitting a treasury proposal costs a 50 PIV fee.

## Who develops and governs PIVX

- **Governance**: Masternodes vote on proposals; up to 432,000 PIV per monthly cycle goes to proposals that pass.
- **Legal entity**: Presents itself as a DAO not owned by anyone; no company is named.
- **Developer**: The site is run by the PIVX Community.
- **Open source**: Core code on GitHub (PIVX-Project/PIVX), MIT licence; last push 21 October 2026.

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 30 January 2016 | PIVX publishes its first core wallet release, v1.0.0.0, on GitHub. |
| 16 March 2016 | Release v1.0.2.0 still uses the ticker DNET and sets block rewards of 175 DNET for miners and 50 DNET for masternodes from block 86400. |
| November 2017 | PIVX patches a libzerocoin exploit and temporarily disables all zPIV transactions. |
| 6 March 2019 | An attack on the zPIV zerocoin protocol is detected; zPIV is disabled by spork. |
| 8 January 2021 | PIVX Core v5.0.0 introduces the SHIELD protocol for private transactions. |
| 21 February 2024 | Latest tagged core release, v5.6.1. |
| 1 November 2026 | The Chainz explorer shows the chain at block 5651278. |

## Security and audits

- Cold staking lets a hot wallet stake delegated coins while only the owner can spend them.
- In 2019 PIVX described 'Fake Stake', a denial-of-service attack on proof-of-stake networks, and said it did not affect user holdings.
- Release notes say the zPIV 'Wrapped serials' and 'broken P1 proof' exploits led PIVX to disable zPIV by spork until review was completed.

## Security incidents

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 2017 | Exploit: An exploit in the third-party libzerocoin library allowed several spending proofs for a single zerocoin mint. PIVX released a patched wallet, disabled all zPIV transactions and removed mints derived from invalid spends. Funds returned: not stated | [github.com](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX/releases/tag/v3.0.5) |
| 6 March 2019 | Exploit: An attack was detected on the zPIV zerocoin protocol: the flaw let an attacker spend zerocoins that had never been minted ('wrapped serials'). All zPIV functions were disabled by spork; PIVX said user privacy and holdings were not directly affected. Funds returned: not stated | [github.com](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX/releases/tag/v3.2.0) |

Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.

## Risks and caveats

- Inflation is ongoing: pivx.org gave about 12.68% a year as of January 2024.
- The earlier zPIV privacy protocol was exploited twice (2017 and 2019) and disabled.
- pivx.org's risk disclosure says users take full responsibility for potentially risky financial transactions.
- Cold staking through a third-party hot wallet stops earning rewards if that wallet goes offline.

## Official links

- Website: [pivx.org](https://pivx.org/)
- Docs: [docs.pivx.org](https://docs.pivx.org/)
- Source code: [github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX)
- Block explorer: [explorer.pivx.org/#](https://explorer.pivx.org/#/)
- Governance: [pivx.org/governance](https://pivx.org/governance)
- Forum: [forum.pivx.org](https://forum.pivx.org/)

## Questions and answers

**What is PIVX?**

PIVX (PIV) is a privacy-focused proof-of-stake blockchain launched in January 2016, with optional private SHIELD transactions and masternode governance.

**How does PIVX work?**

Stakers produce a block every 60 seconds; each block pays 4 PIV to the staker and 6 PIV to a masternode, and all fees are burned.

**What is the supply of PIVX?**

There is no fixed cap: PIVX uses a tail emission. The Chainz explorer reported about 107.8 million PIV on 1 November 2026.

**Has PIVX been hacked?**

Its old zPIV zerocoin feature was exploited in November 2017 and in March 2019 and was disabled; it has since been replaced by SHIELD.

**How do I run a PIVX masternode?**

A masternode needs 10,000 PIV collateral; masternodes earn part of each block reward and vote on treasury proposals.

## Sources

- [PIVX - official website](https://pivx.org/)
- [PIVX - Coin specs](https://pivx.org/coin-specs)
- [PIVX - Economics](https://pivx.org/economics)
- [PIVX - Governance](https://pivx.org/governance)
- [PIVX - Masternodes](https://pivx.org/masternodes)
- [PIVX - Cold staking](https://pivx.org/cold-staking)
- [PIVX - SHIELD privacy protocol](https://pivx.org/privacy-protocol)
- [PIVX - Roadmap](https://pivx.org/roadmap)
- [PIVX - Risk disclosure](https://pivx.org/risk-disclosure)
- [PIVX - Block explorers](https://pivx.org/block-explorer)
- [GitHub API - PIVX repository](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX)
- [PIVX releases v1.0.0.0, v1.0.2.0, vtemp_dev, v3.0.5, v3.2.0, v3.3.0, v4.0.0, v5.0.0, v5.6.1](https://github.com/PIVX-Project/PIVX/releases)
- [Chainz API - block count](https://chainz.cryptoid.info/pivx/api.dws?q=getblockcount)
- [Chainz API - total coins](https://chainz.cryptoid.info/pivx/api.dws?q=totalcoins)

## More in this section

- [Polymesh (POLYX)](https://revain.org/projects/polymesh/)
- [House Party Protocol (HPP)](https://revain.org/projects/house-party-protocol/)
- [Vertcoin (VTC)](https://revain.org/projects/vertcoin/)
- [OAX](https://revain.org/projects/oax/)
- [Emercoin (EMC)](https://revain.org/projects/emercoin/)
- [Feathercoin (FTC)](https://revain.org/projects/feathercoin/)
- [All Crypto projects →](https://revain.org/projects/)

## How voting works

Votes are anonymous and carry no text. Each device has one vote per item; press the same button again to remove it. Cloudflare Turnstile checks that a person is voting. We keep a random device ID in a cookie and a salted hash of the IP address to limit abuse — no names, no accounts. Votes are visitors’ opinions, not investment advice.

Page updated: 2026-11-01

---
Source: https://revain.org/projects/pivx/