Can Protocol 22 put PI back in focus?

Pi Network has kept protocol work at the center of its April update cycle. 

In its Pi Day 2026 post, the team said Mainnet and Testnet2 moved through v19.6 on February 15, v19.9 on March 1, and v20.2 on March 13. Pi said those upgrades were part of the groundwork for smart contract functionality across the network.

That work moved forward again on April 17, when Pi Network introduced subscription smart contract capability on Testnet. The team said the feature is meant to support recurring blockchain-based services and business models. Pi described the release as part of its effort to build “real, recurring, utility-driven” use cases inside the ecosystem.

PiRC2 opens the feature to technical review

Alongside the Testnet feature, Pi Network released PiRC2, the second Pi Request for Comment. According to the project, the document opens the subscription smart contract to technical review and community feedback before any Mainnet rollout. Pi said the process gives developers and reviewers a chance to check the design, spot edge cases, and suggest changes.

Pi said the contract is built so users can approve a defined budget without signing each billing event again. The project added that approved funds stay in the wallet until charges are processed. Pi also said external auditing services are reviewing the smart contract. That setup points to a payment model aimed at subscriptions, commerce, and other repeated onchain actions.

Moreover, Pi Network also faces a near-term node deadline. A PiCoreTeam notice referenced by Coindar said Mainnet nodes must upgrade to Protocol 22 by April 27 to “remain connected to the network.” The deadline keeps attention on infrastructure readiness as Pi continues to add smart contract-related tools.

Beyond the network update, Pi Network is listed as a sponsor for Consensus 2026 in Miami. Chengdiao Fan is scheduled to speak in a session titled “Aligning Web3, AI, and Blockchain for Utility,” while Nicolas Kokkalis is listed on the panel “How to Prove You’re Human in an AI World (Without Doxing Yourself).” The event pages frame both sessions around utility, identity, and trusted participation online.

PI price stays under pressure ahead of new catalysts

Despite the fresh development activity, PI has not posted a strong market response. CoinGecko showed PI (PI) at $0.1687 on April 23, with a 24-hour trading volume of about $11.17 million and a market capitalization of about $1.73 billion, ranking it 49th on the site. Over the last seven days, the token was down 1.0%.

The token also remains far below its previous peak. CoinGecko data shows PI reached an all-time high of $2.99 on February 26, 2025, and now trades 94.4% below that level. 

For now, traders appear to be watching whether the Protocol 22 deadline, Testnet progress, and Consensus 2026 appearance can give the project fresh momentum.