Pi Network makes major announcements on Pi Day as the Pi Coin price sinks

Pi Coin price has suffered a major reversal, moving from a high of $0.2975 to the current $0.1970. It has dropped by over 30% from its highest point this month despite some major announcements on Pi Day and after the latest Kraken listing. 

Pi Network launches Launchpad on testnet 

One of the top announcements on Pi Day was the creation of Pi Launchpad on the testnet. The initial version of the Pi Launchpad that implements key changes is now live in the testnet, allowing users in the ecosystem to launch ecosystem tokens.

Pi Network hopes that tokens launched in the ecosystem are different from those launched in other chains like Ethereum, Solana, and Hedera. Instead, their goal will be user acquisition and product utility instead of primarily raising capital. Projects will issue tokens as tools to acquire users for their applications and integrate those tokens directly to the product’s functionality.

Details on protocol upgrades

Pi Network  developers also reacted to the ongoing node and protocol upgrades. The network has already completed the v19.6, v19.9, and v20.2 upgrades, with the next major upgrade happening in the coming weeks.

The upgrade is notable as it now introduces smart contracts to the network, a move that will make it possible for people to build decentralized applications and automate transactions according to predefined conditions. 

This launch will now make it possible for developers to build DeFi and non-fungible tokens (NFT). Its goal will be to introduce more utility chains in areas like DeFi, RWA, and gaming.

Second migrations and referral bonus migration 

The other major Pi Network news was details on the second migration and referral bonus migration. They noted that second migrations had started and will continue rolling out gradually, a move that will bring additional Pi to the mainnet.

A major change on this is that the second migrations will include a referral mining bonus attributable to referral team members who passed the KYC.

Details on validator rewards 

Pi Network delivered details on the first KYC validator rewards distribution. The developers noted that there were over 16.56 million Pi tokens in the validator rewards pool. At the current price, these tokens are worth over $3.2 million.

At the same time, the Pi Foundation announced that it would sponsor 10 million Pi into the pool supplementing the distribution of the first round of rewards.

The other major news was that the network enabled Pi App Studio apps being enabled on the mainnet. This means that select App Studio apps can transition from testnet to mainnet if they qualify.

Pi Network price technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the Pi Coin price has retreated sharply in the past few days, despite the Kraken listing. It dropped from a high of $0.2975 to the current $0.1973, which was in line with our prediction.

The coin formed a bearish engulfing pattern, which is made up of a big bearish candle that follows a bullish candle. It has moved below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA).

Therefore, the token will likely continue falling as sellers target the next key support level at $0.1500. In the long term, however, the coin will likely rebound, and possibly retest the key resistance level at $0.2968, its highest point this year.