2026-08-12

V26 Deadline Passed, Nodes and Testnet 2 Ready, but Mainnet Still V25

The node deadline of August 11th has passed. According to OrbitWatch's observations, the current status is: Node-side actions occurred almost a week before the deadline, and Testnet 2 has also confirmed its switch. However, as of this publication, the mainnet's protocol_version query result is still 25. Comparison with Previous Upgrades This time, the node-side readiness was significantly faster than V25. For V25, nodes pulled the new container almost two weeks after the deadline, whereas this time, the node software automatically switched to v26 approximately one week before the deadline. If the mainnet switch follows the "within 3 days" pattern of V22-V24, we should see results in the next day or two; if it repeats the long delay of V25, further observation will be needed. What is V26? When officially announced on 7/29, V26 was referred to as a "major milestone" and "one of the last steps" before the "final planned upgrade" V27. The official team later clarified that V26 improves contract security, state management, interoperability, and cryptographic capabilities, but no further technical details were provided. OrbitWatch's Monitoring Continues Our Horizon API monitoring continues to track the mainnet's protocol_version. Once a switch is observed, a confirmation article will be published immediately. Further Reading Official V26 Upgrade Announcement: Major Milestone, V27 is the Final Planned Upgrade Pi Network Protocol Upgrade Mechanism: From Node Deadline to Mainnet Switch Data sources: Pi Network Horizon API (api.mainnet.minepi.com), direct observation of Pi Network node interface and docker images. All analysis does not constitute investment advice. OrbitWatch is an independent Pi Network ecosystem observatory and is not affiliated with the official Pi Network team.

• •The V26 node deadline of August 11th has passed, with node software and Testnet 2 already updated to v26.
• •Despite the deadline, the Pi Network mainnet's protocol version remains at v25.