Despite a brief delay, the Core Team behind the controversial project has announced the completion of the latest major protocol upgrade and signaled that work is already underway toward the next release.
At the same time, the ecosystem’s native token staged a solid rebound following a sharp drop earlier this week.
V21 Is Here
The Core Team began highlighting frequent protocol updates in late February after successfully migrating to version 19.6. Version 19.9 followed shortly after, and the much-anticipated v20.2—which established the groundwork for smart contract functionality—arrived on March 14 (Pi Day).
Version 21 was released in early April, and the team initially set April 27 as the target for completing the next upgrade (version 22). Although the team did not publicly confirm the migration by that date, multiple user reports on X showed their applications reflecting the new version, prompting speculation that the upgrade had already occurred. The team officially confirmed the successful migration on May 1 and reminded node operators to update their systems to remain compatible with the blockchain.
The announcement also referenced the subsequent upgrade on the roadmap (v23), but provided no definite timeline for its completion.
Network Update: The Pi Mainnet has successfully upgraded to Protocol 22!
Node operators, please ensure your systems are up to date and stay tuned for instructions regarding the upcoming v23 upgrade.
— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) May 1, 2026
PI Rebounds
The project’s native token posted a notable gain midweek, standing out at a time when much of the broader crypto market was largely flat or in decline. PI surged from about $0.17 to a monthly high near $0.20 over roughly 48 hours, prompting some analysts to speculate that a deeper rally might be beginning.
That advance was met with strong selling pressure, however, and the token slid back to just above $0.17 on Thursday. One prominent analyst on X noted that PI remained above its critical 100-day moving average, which had been acting as support, and forecasted an imminent bounce.
On Friday, that rebound materialized: PI climbed roughly 6% from its low and regained levels above $0.18. As of press time, its market capitalization is near $1.9 billion, ranking it among the top 50 digital assets on CoinGecko.