Pi Network’s Core Team has released a major infrastructure update, launching an RPC server on Testnet and upgrading the protocol to version 21. The RPC server enables crucial smart contract development, providing free, fast read-only calls and fee-based state changes. Despite this technical progress, the project’s native PI token continues to decline in value, trading below $0.17 amid significant upcoming token unlocks that could increase selling pressure.
The Pi Network Core Team published an important announcement outlining two key technical developments. The network has released a Remote Procedure Call server on Testnet and successfully implemented a protocol upgrade to version 21.
The RPC server is described as an “important infrastructure milestone” supporting smart contracts. It complements earlier Node and Protocol upgrades that moved the Mainnet to version 20.
This interface allows applications to communicate with the Pi blockchain for building smart contract-based apps. It supports both read-only calls, which are free, and state-changing transactions that require standard fees.
The team stated that many real-world use cases depend “heavily on fast, free read access.” Developers can use the RPC to build responsive applications, test contracts, and integrate services with the blockchain.
These positive developments have failed to impact the native token in a bullish manner. PI continues to lose ground and struggles below the $0.17 resistance level.
Data shows the token is down on daily, weekly, and monthly scales. This follows a volatile period around its Kraken listing last month.
Significant token unlocks are scheduled for the coming weeks, potentially intensifying selling pressure. An average of nearly 8 million PI tokens will be released daily over the next month.
A concentrated unlock between April 15 and 17 will see over 18 million coins released daily. Roughly 62 million tokens will enter circulation during that 72-hour period.
