Pi Network Launches Smart Contract Capabilities on Testnet, Sparks Mixed Reactions

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Pi Network announced a network upgrade with smart contract support on Testnet, marking a key on-chain news update. The Core Team introduced PiRC2 to test use cases like e-commerce and streaming. Community reactions are split, with praise for progress and criticism over KYC and mainnet migration delays. The PI token trades near $0.17, down 95% from its 2025 peak.

The team behind the controversial crypto project Pi Network aims to improve the overall ecosystem through various initiatives, with the launch of smart contract capabilities among the main goals.

Just recently, it issued an important disclosure on that matter, yet the price of the native token failed to gain momentum.

What’s New?

Pi Network has undergone several vital updates since the beginning of the year, with one of the most important being the migration to protocol v20.2, which laid the foundation for smart contract capabilities. It was successfully upgraded before the symbolic Pi Day (March 14).

Earlier this month, the Core Team revealed that the first smart contract capability is live directly on the project’s Testnet. According to them, this would foster “real, recurring, utility-driven use cases.”

“Think e-commerce, streaming, online tools, and more, powered on-chain,” the announcement reads.

Several hours ago, the team delved deeper into the matter, releasing the second Pi Request for Comment (PiRC2), aiming to open the Testnet subscription smart contract to technical review and community feedback. Pioneers are encouraged to try integrating subscriptions in their own applications, review the contract design, and test for bugs or edge cases.

Some community members highlighted the development and labeled it as beneficial for the entire ecosystem. X user Chen2Weels, for instance, argued that users will finally be able to test and deploy on their own apps.

“This is what we’d love to see on other projects: the community getting involved in developments like these,” they added.

Others were less supportive, claiming that Pi Network needs to address many ongoing issues before introducing new initiatives. The main problem appears to be the KYC verification and migration to the mainnet, as some users claim they’ve been waiting for years for approval without any success.

PI Price Outlook

The recent announcement and the broader market’s resurgence following the extended ceasefire in the Middle East have failed to spark an uptick in Pi Network’s native cryptocurrency. It continues trading at around $0.17, roughly the same level as yesterday.

When zooming out, the situation looks far more concerning. PI has collapsed by nearly 95% from its all-time high of $3, reached at the start of 2025, and it seems that only a major catalyst, such as support from a leading crypto exchange, could trigger a substantial rebound.

In fact, this is what happened in mid-March when Kraken allowed trading services with the asset, causing the price to spike to a multi-month high of $0.30.

The post Pi Network (PI) Drops Major Announcement; Community Reacts With Mixed Feelings appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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