Pi Network’s PI Token Dumps 13% Weekly as Team Announces Crucial Deadline Ahead

Recall that PI traded close to $0.30 just a few weeks ago. Now, it’s down to under $0.18.

The Core Team behind the controversial blockchain project has outlined the deadline for the completion of the next major upgrade, which should take place in the next week or so.

However, the protocol’s native token continues to bleed, dropping over 3% in the past day and dumping by double-digits weekly. It has erased essentially all gains charted during the post-Kraken-announcement rally.

Next Update Deadline

The big protocol updates for Pi Network began in late February when the team announced the migration to version 19.6. The next one, v19.9, followed suit in early March. The most anticipated upgrade was version 20.2, which drew significant attention as it laid the groundworks for smart-contract capabilities, which would allow Pi Network to become a fully functional blockchain ecosystem.

After it was successfully upgraded by Pi Day (March 14), the team set its sights on the next big move – moving to protocol 21. However, it didn’t initially provide a specific timeframe for completion, which led some community members to question the actual implementation.

Nevertheless, the Core Team outlined in a post on X hours ago that the Pi Network Mainnet has begun the process of upgrading to protocol 21, and the deadline is April 6. As with all previous such updates, they urged all Mainnet nodes to “complete this step before the deadline to remain connected to the network.”

The Pi Mainnet is upgrading to Protocol 21 – Deadline: Apr 6. All Mainnet nodes are required to complete this step before the deadline to remain connected to the network. Details here: https://t.co/9VehO7hhj1

— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) March 27, 2026

PI Still Tanks

Perhaps due to the aforementioned updates or, more likely, because of Kraken’s decision to list the underlying asset for trading, the PI token went on a wild run in mid-March. At one point, just after Kraken’s announcement, it skyrocketed by 30% in 24 hours. Overall, it jumped by nearly 100% in days and marked a multi-month peak of nearly $0.30.

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However, once the actual listing became official, it turned out to be another classic sell-the-news event, and PI crashed to under $0.20 instantly. It has remained mostly below that level ever since. It’s now down to under $0.175 after another 3% drop in the past day, as it has lost 13% of its value weekly.

Data from PiScan shows that the average daily unlock of PI tokens will be relatively high for the next month, close to 7 million. There will be several days with over 10 million coins to be released, which is something that could intensify the immediate selling pressure and lead to further declines.