Pi Network (PI) News Today: October 28th

PI’s price rebound was short-lived and the asset is back into red territory.

Pi Network continues to advance its ecosystem, while the project’s native token has experienced significant volatility as of late. In the following lines, we will explore these topics in detail.

The Latest Update

Last month, Pi Network’s team revealed that the protocol will move from v19 to v23. The new version was described as “a custom Pi protocol, pulling upgrades from Stellar v23, adding new functionality and control.” Specifically, it will embed Know-Your-Customer authority to maintain the project as a KYC-verified blockchain, while offering a more “distributed, community-driven process.”

Earlier today (October 28), several X users reported that Testnet2 v23 had been officially activated. They also outlined that the next step is the introduction of the Mainnet v24 / Stellar.

The implementation of the upgrade ensures that all network nodes now operate under Protocol v23 (fully compatible with Stellar SCP). It also enables smart contracts and DeFi functionalities, synchronizes community dashboards and monitoring tools with the new network status, and establishes that all future governance proposals/votes apply to the upgraded version.

Is the Hackathon Over?

Another recent development related to the controversial crypto project is the Pi Hackathon 2025. The team launched the event towards the end of August with the primary goal of encouraging Pioneers to create real-world applications that expand the utility of the PI token.

It also promised a 160,000-coin prize pool for the top eight teams. The Hackathon reached its halfway point a month ago and was supposed to end on October 15. However, Pi Network’s team has not yet unveiled its official conclusion or provided any updates since that deadline passed.

PI Price Swings

The project’s native cryptocurrency finally charted a substantial green candle on October 27, when the price shot up by double digits to almost $0.30. This happened at a time when the broader crypto market experienced a revival, but today things are much different. PI headed back south and is currently worth around $0.23 (per CoinGecko’s data), representing a 7% daily decline.

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And while the hard-core fans of the asset believe a rally into uncharted territory remains possible in the future, some factors suggest a further short-term pullback is also on the table. The tokens scheduled to unlock over the next 30 days, for instance, are above 120 million. This will allow people to offload holdings they have been waiting for a long time, thereby increasing selling pressure.