PI holds at $0.1770 as core team pushes mainnet upgrade

PI has maintained its position around $0.1770 as of Friday, posting a 4.5% gain over the previous day. The token is outperforming the broader market in the last 24 hours. The Pi Core Team (PCT) is moving forward with a mainnet upgrade that will enable smart contract functionality. This is expected to act as a catalyst for price movement. April 27 marks the final deadline for all mainnet nodes to complete the necessary steps to remain connected to the network. This is part of the Stellar Protocol version 22 upgrade. The upgrade will cause a brief 15-minute downtime during internal data transfer, but it lays the groundwork for future improvements. We are also looking at a full upgrade to version 26, slated for June 22. That date falls ahead of Pi2Day on June 28. On the technical side, the picture is mixed. The PI/USD 4-hour chart shows the token trading above the $0.1770 level, but the broader posture remains bearish. PI is still trading below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs). Immediate resistance sits at $0.1785, which corresponds to the 50-day EMA. Stronger resistance follows at $0.1865 (100-day EMA) and $0.2334 (200-day EMA). Momentum indicators are presenting mixed signals at this point. I would watch whether PI can close above $0.1785 on solid volume before considering a shift in trend.