Pi Coin Price Surges 3% as Testnet Upgrade Ignites Bullish Momentum - $11K Target in Sight?

Pi Network's latest testnet upgrade sends shockwaves through the crypto space as institutional demand skyrockets—fueling a 3% price surge that has traders eyeing historic breakout potential.

The Technical Catalyst

Network enhancements trigger algorithmic buying patterns that traditional finance can't seem to comprehend—yet another case of legacy systems playing catch-up with blockchain innovation.

Market Momentum Building

Key support levels hold firm while trading volume spikes 40% above monthly averages, creating the perfect storm for continued upward trajectory despite broader market hesitations.

Institutional FOMO Arrives

Wall Street's sudden interest in Pi Coin reveals what crypto natives knew all along—decentralized networks outperform centralized alternatives, even if traditional funds are late to the party as usual.

With testnet success translating to mainnet momentum, Pi Coin's 3% surge might just be the opening act for a rewrite of crypto's record books—assuming the suits don't find a way to overcomplicate things first.

Key insights:

• Pi Coin completes Testnet1 upgrade to protocol v23, aligning with Stellar and prepping mainnet.
• Pi Network up 2.7% in 24h, trading near $0.36 with resistance at $0.40.
• TOKEN2049 sponsorship, PiOnline DeFi game, and $20M OpenMind AI investment expand use cases.

Pi Network’s Pi coin price climbed roughly 2.7% in 24 hours, trading NEAR $0.36 by mid-September 2025. The jump followed completion of Pi Network’s Testnet1 upgrade to protocol v23, a final preparation before the mainnet launch.

Traders note Pi now faces resistance near $0.382, with the next key hurdle around $0.40. Breaching those levels could signal further upside for Pi coin.

Pi Coin Testnet v23 Upgrade Spurs Rally

On Sept. 15, Pi Core Team finished upgrading Testnet1 to v23, pushing the network into its final phase before an open mainnet.

According to industry reports, the v23 patch “increases the network’s ability to handle more transactions and be stable in real-world conditions.”

This boost is expected to improve transaction throughput and resilience ahead of the live launch. PI Networ developers say Testnet2 and mainnet deployments will follow in the coming weeks, and user accounts will map smoothly from testnet to mainnet via the phased rollout.

The successful upgrade helped spark the recent bounce in Pi coin price by shoring up confidence in the project’s roadmap.

Pi Network: Ecosystem Expansion and Partnerships

The project’s ecosystem is also expanding, reinforcing the bullish mood. Notably, Pi Network serves as a Gold sponsor at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on October 1-2, 2025. Co-founder Dr. Chengdiao Fan will speak.

The event expects 25,000 attendees and 300 Web3 leaders. This high-profile presence aims to raise Pi’s visibility in the crypto industry.

Pi Coin team also launched PiOnline, a DeFi farming game accessible in the Pi Browser, to engage users with play-to-earn and staking mechanics.

In addition, Pi Network announced a $20 million investment in AI robotics firm OpenMind AGI, August 2025 to push blockchain-AI integration.

Together, these developments, from tokenomics to gaming, are cited as evidence that Pi is building real use cases, which may underpin the token’s recent momentum.

Pi Coin Price Analysis

Market data show renewed interest in PI. PI coin market capitalization is around $2.9 billion, with 24-hour trading volume jumping roughly 14% to $48.3 million.

Technically, Pi Coin price has broken above its 30-day moving average (around $0.354), and its RSI (relative strength index) has climbed into neutral territory (53).

This suggests selling pressure has eased. However, on-chain charts show Pi coin is bumping up against $0.382 resistance.

Traders note that a daily close above $0.382 could open the way toward the $0.40 mark, while failure to hold gains might see PI test support near $0.344 again.

A key near-term risk is token unlocking. On-chain sources indicate that about 165 million Pi Network tokens will enter circulation in the coming weeks as locked balances are released.

For example, Pi’s September unlock schedule is set to release over 13 million PI on Sept. 21 alone (part of the 165M total).

Such an unlocked supply could put downward pressure on price despite the upgrade hype. Analysts caution that the bulk unlock may dilute the rally, even as broader adoption factors remain supportive.

Overall, the data show Pi coin’s recent 2.7% gain is grounded in concrete developments. The successful Testnet v23 upgrade and expanding ecosystem (TOKEN2049, PiOnline, OpenMind) have lifted sentiment.

Market metrics confirm the uptick, but investors are watching whether Pi Coin price can sustain a breakout above $0.40 or face selling around the unlock dates.