Analysts monitor price as Pi Network rolls out first 2026 update

Pi Network has launched its first update of 2026, adding a new developer library to make Pi payments easier and faster to integrate into applications.

The update announced this week by the Pi Network core team will introduce a bundled toolkit that allows developers to add Pi payment functionality into their apps in less than ten minutes. 

Pi Network, which launched as a mobile-first crypto project, has faced years of scrutiny over timelines, real-world use cases, and token economics. The latest update is attempting to clear up one of its critics’ biggest pain points, developer friction.

Pi Network launches update to simplify payments for developers

According to documentation released for the update on GitHub, the Pi Software Development Kit with backend application programming interfaces will be combined with its library to form a single setup. This is meant to reduce the technical complexity and time the network had required before to integrate Pi payments into apps.

The Pi Network team says developers can now work more on building and improving products instead of dealing with infrastructure bottlenecks. Since the initial version of the library supports development stacks used by most creators, the new version will be accessible to even more applications.

On the frontend, developers can work with JavaScript or React, while backend compatibility includes Next.js and Ruby on Rails.

Pi Network JavaScript SDK provides a fully typed, modern ES module interface to the Pi Network protocol. It is for developers building applications that use the Pi browser extension or the global window. Pi API, and supports TypeScript and class-based controls.

Some of the functions include connect(), which starts authentication and session handshakes, and createPayment(paymentData), which handles payments. Pi’s callback protocol takes care of server callbacks automatically, which cuts down on the need for human setup.

The usePiConnection() hook manages Pi authentication and user connection, exposing connection status and user data. This allows developers to enable or disable purchase actions based on user readiness. Another hook, usePiPurchase(paymentData), returns a purchase callback that triggers the full Pi payment flow for specific transactions.

A child SDK called pi-sdk-js provides all forms of protocol data, such as payment data and user objects. Developers that aren’t using React can use this lower-level SDK directly to make their own implementations.

Moreover, Pi Network released a Next.js integration guide for modern Next.js projects using either the App Router or Pages Router. It helps developers scaffold, configure, and integrate Pi payments, authentication, and user flows with minimal boilerplate.

Is PI going back to ATH? 

After reaching an all-time high of $2.98, the asset plunged to around $0.6 by June, and went down further to as low as $0.16. The market price slump has given naysayers the confidence to bash PI for not “living up” to its promise of becoming the next big sustainable project. 

Over 2.7 million PI tokens left exchanges in the first week of January, which took its relative strength index to about 49. Some market watchers had hoped that if its price reached $0.213, it would help the coin get back up to $0.3. 

Per data from Santiment, Pi Network’s social dominance has dropped to 0.004% due to a muted visibility in crypto media and subdued retail interest, which could mean demand for the token is fading overall.

However, nearly 18 million PI tokens changed hands at the start of this business week, the highest daily trading volume since mid-December. Daily trading volume at the time of this reporting is at $5.37 million, 98% below peaks seen last year. 

Bears are also waiting to pounce when approximately 95 million PI tokens, valued at $19.8 million, unlock this month. The token market release is part of the 1.24 billion PI tokens, worth about $259 million, expected throughout the whole year.

Although it is already at 91.6% of the maximum supply, sustained unlocks could add consistent sell pressure, owing to how unlock events before have caused price declines.

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