TL;DR

The long-awaited protocol upgrade from Version 19 to 23 will be implemented soon, announced the team behind the popular project. They warned that there could be some network outages along the way as the update will arrive through phases.

Version 23 Is Coming

The Core Teams video explains that the new Version is based on Stellar v23, but its custom-made for Pi Network, and it aims to add more control and new functionalities for its users. Some of those will include embedding Know-Your-Customer authorities into the protocol that will maintain PI as a KYC-verified blockchain, while offering a more distributed community-driven KYC process at the protocol level.

The move aims to decentralize KYC authority, which should be welcomed by users who have experienced significant difficulties in the past few years getting their accounts verified.

Pi Networks native KYC solution will continue to verify users, but Version 23 will also allow the process to be assigned to trusted third-party solutions.

The team reminded that identity verification via KYC is important for the integrity of the network, compliance, and readiness for integrations by services that require identity verification. The video also noted that the total number of verified users has grown to almost 15 million.

Given the fact that the protocol upgrades will be phased out through consecutive versions, the network may experience some downtime. However, the team promised to alert its community ahead of time. The idea of this announcement now is to help partners, third-party services, and the community to get prepared in time.

PI Price Struggles

Despite the recent updates, including the introduction of Linux Node services, Pi Networks native token has failed to post any significant and lasting gains. The asset tumbled to an all-time low of $0.33 on August 26 but staged a quick recovery toward $0.4 in the following days. At one point, it even outperformed most of the market, which was in shambles.

However, that was a short-lived relief, and PI is down once again, losing over 3% of value weekly. It currently trades below $0.35, which is only 5% above the ATL. Moreover, the token has plunged by more than 88% since its all-time high marked in late February.

The token unlock schedule for the next month is rather two-fold. September 6 and 11 will see a substantial number of released coins (12.3 million and 9.9 million, respectively), but the pressure should ease in the next couple of weeks.

PI Token Unlock Schedule. Source: Piscan