Pi Network price hovered at $0.159 on Sunday ahead of the highly anticipated Protocol 23.0 launch scheduled for May 18. The overall cryptocurrency market experienced a slight recovery following two days of bearish trading patterns.
The price of Bitcoin remained below $78,000 levels, with Ethereum near $2,180 and XRP trading above the $1.40 support level.
Protocol 23 Upgrade Boosts Pi Network Development
Pi Network’s upcoming Protocol 23.0 upgrade is poised to be another pivotal milestone in the project’s technical evolution.
The update will officially turn Pi Network into a programmable L1 smart contract and DApp platform. The launch also brings in enhanced development capabilities to boost the ecosystem growth on the Pi Network platform.
Pi Network’s final Protocol 23 upgrade lands Monday with smart contracts in tow@PiCoreTeam confirmed Protocol 23 activates May 18, flipping Pi from a basic mainnet into a programmable L1 with native smart contracts and dApps.
The node deadline was pushed from May 15 to May 19… pic.twitter.com/bdbifjzylf
— BSCN (@BSCNews) May 16, 2026
The Pi App Studio integration is one of the big features, providing AI-powered app conversion tools. Developers are able to reportedly transform apps built with Claude and Codex into Pi-compatible decentralized applications.
The Pi Core Team has just announced that Protocol 23.0 is developed on the technology infrastructure of Stellar Core v23.0.1. The upgrade has been developed on the basis of previous protocol versions such as 19.1, 20.0, 21.0 and 22.1, which were developed in earlier stages.
Why the Deadline Was Extended?
Pi Network extended the node migration deadline from May 15 to May 19, announcing the software upgrade. After an upgraded software release, Pi Network extended the node migration deadline from May 15 to May 19.
The extension allows node operators more time to upgrade to the new version before being completely migrated.
The updated release will now concentrate on optimising the performance of the migrated databases, says the Pi Core Team.
The update aims to enable nodes to perform more efficiently following the full activation of Protocol 23.0.
This enhancement is especially valuable to operators who deploy multiple nodes or operate a high uptime system throughout the network. The team noted that the extension had nothing to do with infrastructure issues or problems with Pi Network operations.
Will Pi Network Price Recover Above $0.20+ This Week
The Pi coin traded at $0.160 on Sunday, while investors awaited the upcoming Protocol 23.0 upgrade scheduled for 18th May.
The MACD indicator maintained its downward momentum, supporting the bull market to be underwhelming for the short term in Pi Network price action. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator, meanwhile, stayed in negative territory, indicating that capital continued to flow out of the market.
The 4-hour chart shows that current Pi coin support is hovering around the crucial $0.155 level. However, a sellers’ breakdown below this level may lead Pi coin towards the next support near the $0.150 level.
If bears continue to dominate cryptocurrency markets, further weakness could bring the lower $0.145 level into view.
On the positive side, Pi coin long-term prediction is likely to encounter significant resistance at the $0.165 mark in the next trading sessions.
If it breaks up from this resistance, buyers could head to the more significant resistance $0.170 once again. If the sentiment for the upgrade is positive, Pi coin can then advance toward the crucial $0.180 mark later.
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