Pi Network is advancing toward Protocol 27, its final planned upgrade, with September 15, 2026, set as the target date for Mainnet deployment. Testing has commenced on Pi Testnet 1 following the successful completion of Protocol 26 on Mainnet, and the project has reclaimed the $1 billion market-cap threshold amid a recovering crypto market. Protocol 27 introduces more flexible and secure smart-contract authentication, enabling advanced transaction authorization for accounts and applications, while preparing infrastructure for RPC servers, decentralized exchange functions and automated market maker liquidity pools. The rollout sequence runs Testnet 1, Testnet 2 and Mainnet. Pi App Studio will revise its pricing model from August 24, ending subsidized fees of 0.25 PI for most creators. Approximately 82 Mainnet applications are live, approaching the 100-app milestone. Upcoming milestones include a potential U.S. Senate CLARITY Act vote on September 15, speculation around a Global Open Mainnet announcement on September 24, and participation at Token2049 on October 7-8. Pi (PI) trades at $0.1045, up 13.19% in 24 hours, with a market cap of $1.16 billion and ranking around 56th globally. Analysts note a second attempt to break above $0.10, supported by a four-hour RSI of 67.97.