# Frequently Asked Questions

## Frequently Asked Questions

{% hint style="info" %}
Can't find your answer here? Ask in [Telegram](https://t.me/pandacoin) — someone from the community will get back to you fast.
{% endhint %}

### The basics

<details>

<summary><strong>What is Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

Pandacoin (PND) is an independent, community-driven cryptocurrency launched in **February 2014**. It's a hybrid **Proof-of-Work + Proof-of-Stake** blockchain designed to actually be used as money — low fees, modern wallet, no gatekeepers — with a **100% fee burn** that offsets block-reward inflation.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>What does PND stand for?</strong></summary>

PND is the ticker symbol for Pandacoin. You'll see it on exchanges, explorers, and in wallet balances.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>When was Pandacoin launched?</strong></summary>

February 2014 as a Dogecoin fork. It transitioned to Proof-of-Stake the same year, then underwent a major network upgrade on **17 May 2021**, rebasing on the Peercoin codebase and reintroducing PoW alongside PoS.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Was there a premine, ICO, or VC round?</strong></summary>

**No.** Pandacoin had a fair launch in 2014 with no premine, no initial coin offering, and no insider allocation. Every PND in existence was minted by the protocol through PoW or PoS rewards.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Who runs Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

Nobody and everybody. There's no company, no foundation treasury, no CEO. The project is run by a community of developers, miners, stakers, and users contributing in the open. Code lives on [GitLab](https://gitlab.com/pandacoin).

</details>

### What makes it different

<details>

<summary><strong>What sets Pandacoin apart from other cryptocurrencies?</strong></summary>

Four things, mostly:

1. **Hybrid PoW + PoS.** Miners and stakers both produce blocks. You don't need ASIC hardware to secure the network.
2. **100% fee burn.** Every transaction fee is destroyed, not paid to validators. This counters inflation and gives PND real deflationary pressure under sustained use.
3. **Fair launch.** No premine, no ICO, no VC allocation.
4. **Built for spending, not hoarding.** Low static fees, fast sync, modern wallet — designed to be used as actual money.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Why burn fees instead of paying them to miners/stakers?</strong></summary>

Because miners and stakers already get **block rewards**. Fees on top of that would just be extra income for validators. By burning fees instead, every transaction permanently removes PND from circulation — so the more the network is used, the tighter supply gets. It's a protocol-level incentive to actually spend the coin.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Is Pandacoin secure?</strong></summary>

Yes. Two consensus layers (PoW + PoS) mean an attacker needs to compromise both to meaningfully attack the chain — significantly harder than attacking a single-consensus network. Attacking PoS also requires buying a large stake, which directly benefits existing holders.

</details>

### Using Pandacoin

<details>

<summary><strong>How do I get a wallet?</strong></summary>

Download the official Pandacoin wallet from the wallet guide. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Back up your wallet file **immediately** after creating it.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>How do I buy PND?</strong></summary>

Check the Where to Buy Pandacoin section for the current list of exchanges. Pandacoin is listed on several DEXes and smaller exchanges. If you're on Solana, see the Solana token section below.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>What's the transaction fee?</strong></summary>

**10 PND per kilobyte**, static. The fee doesn't change based on network congestion — it's the same whether the chain is idle or busy. The fee is burned, not paid to miners or stakers.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>How fast are transactions?</strong></summary>

Block time is **10 minutes**, so typical confirmation is similar to Bitcoin. First confirmation takes \~10 minutes on average; most services require 1-6 confirmations before crediting a deposit.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Do I need to give my personal information to use Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

**No.** There's no registration, no KYC, no email required to use the network itself. You just run the wallet. Some exchanges may require KYC to trade — that's their policy, not Pandacoin's.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>I lost my wallet / forgot my password. Can I recover my coins?</strong></summary>

If you backed up your wallet file or seed/recovery phrase, yes — restore from the backup. If you didn't back up and you lose the wallet file **and** the password, the coins are gone. Nobody (including us) can recover them. **Back up your wallet.**

</details>

### Mining and staking

<details>

<summary><strong>Can I mine Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

Yes. PoW uses **SHA-256d** (the same algorithm as Bitcoin), so any SHA-256 ASIC miner works. Point it at the network, start mining.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Can I stake Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

Yes. Hold PND in the official wallet, keep the wallet online and unlocked for staking, and the protocol will periodically pick you to mint a new block. Works on a laptop, mini-PC, or Raspberry Pi — no mining hardware required.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>How much do I need to stake?</strong></summary>

There's no minimum. More PND means more frequent block selection, but even small balances can mint blocks given enough time.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Do I have to lock my coins to stake?</strong></summary>

No. Staking doesn't lock your balance — you can still send your PND at any time. The wallet just needs to be online and unlocked for staking to be eligible.

</details>

### The Solana token (PND on SPL)

<details>

<summary><strong>Is the Solana PND the same as native PND?</strong></summary>

**No.** They live on different networks. Native PND runs on the Pandacoin L1 blockchain. PND on Solana is an **SPL token** — a standard Solana asset deployed on Solana's network. They share a name and ticker but are technically separate assets.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Why launch on Solana?</strong></summary>

To give PND liquidity and visibility in the Solana ecosystem — accessible to Solana wallets, DEXes, and aggregators like Jupiter. It's about expanding reach, not replacing the native chain.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Can I swap between native PND and Solana PND?</strong></summary>

Not directly via a built-in bridge. You'd go through an exchange or swap service. **Always double-check which network you're sending to** — native PND sent to a Solana address (or vice versa) will be lost.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Where's the contract address?</strong></summary>

`5aKvh7uwKNn5CQcXd5hxKJLp7wR1GE4HcgigvhL3pump` — view on [Solscan](https://solscan.io/token/5aKvh7uwKNn5CQcXd5hxKJLp7wR1GE4HcgigvhL3pump), [Pump.fun](https://pump.fun/coin/5aKvh7uwKNn5CQcXd5hxKJLp7wR1GE4HcgigvhL3pump), or trade via [Jupiter](https://jup.ag/swap/SOL-5aKvh7uwKNn5CQcXd5hxKJLp7wR1GE4HcgigvhL3pump).

</details>

### Developers and builders

<details>

<summary><strong>Can developers build on Pandacoin?</strong></summary>

Yes. The Peercoin-based codebase supports smart contracts and issued assets. Developers can build services, wallets, integrations, and applications on top of the network.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Where's the source code?</strong></summary>

[GitLab](https://gitlab.com/pandacoin) is the source of truth. A read-only mirror exists on [GitHub](https://github.com/DigitalPandacoin). There's also a [Docker image](https://gitlab.com/pandacoin/docker-pandacoind) for running a node.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>How can I contribute?</strong></summary>

The three things that help Pandacoin most:

1. **Talk about it.** Post about PND, share the project with people who might care, bring it up in crypto conversations. Awareness is the single biggest thing a small independent coin is missing — and anyone can help with it.
2. **Build something that uses it.** A shop that accepts PND, a tipping bot, a game integration, a service priced in PND, a wallet tool, a block explorer skin — anything that creates a reason to spend or receive the coin. Network activity is what makes the fee-burn model work.
3. **Buy some.** Holding PND (and ideally staking it) directly supports the network: more stakers = stronger PoS security, and demand-side pressure helps the ecosystem grow.

Want to help but not sure where to start? Drop into [Telegram](https://t.me/pandacoin) — we'll point you at something useful.

</details>

### Community and support

<details>

<summary><strong>Where's the community?</strong></summary>

Primary hub is [Telegram](https://t.me/pandacoin). Also active on [Discord](https://discord.gg/9UAXtm2ApS), [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/PandacoinPND/), and [Twitter/X](https://twitter.com/PandaCoinPND). See the full list on the social media page.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>I got a DM from "Pandacoin support" asking for my seed phrase. What do I do?</strong></summary>

**Ignore it and block them.** Pandacoin staff **never** DM first, never ask for your seed phrase, never ask you to "validate" or "sync" your wallet, and never offer to double your coins. If it's a DM asking for any of those things, it's a scam — 100% of the time.

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>I have a question not covered here.</strong></summary>

Ask in [Telegram](https://t.me/pandacoin) or [Discord](https://discord.gg/9UAXtm2ApS). The community is friendly and responses are usually quick.

</details>

### Related reading


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