PIVX is a decentralized open-source cryptocurrency focused on privacy, which was launched on February 1, 2016 under the name Darknet (DNET), before it was professionally renamed PIVX. The initial Proof of Work (PoW) distribution phase ended in August 2016, after which DNET moved to the current Proof of Stake (PoS) phase.
PIVX operates on the Blackcoin PoS 2.0 protocol and is based on the Bitcoin core 0.10.x codebase. It uses a network of masternodes for open decentralized governance and increasing transaction privacy. The main goal of PIVX is near-instant private transactions and governance that helps maintain the network for the benefit of all users.
