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OrbitWatch Editorial★★★★▲

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

Published August 12, 2026 at 01:42 AM

The node deadline of August 11th has passed.

According to OrbitWatch's observations, the current status is:

Node software version: v26        ✓ Running (pulled around 8/4-8/5)
Testnet 2 protocol: v26           ✓ Switched
Mainnet protocol: v25             ⏳ Not yet switched (deadline 8/11)

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

V22  Node deadline 4/27 → Mainnet switch 4/30 (3-day difference)
V23  Node deadline 5/19 → Mainnet switch 5/22 (3-day difference)
V24  Node deadline 6/2  → Mainnet switch 6/5 (3-day difference)
V25  Node deadline 6/18 → Mainnet switch 7/22 (34-day difference)
V26  Node deadline 8/11 → Mainnet switch ? (in progress)

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

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.

Key Points

  • •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.
  • •V26 is described as a "major milestone" improving contract security, state management, interoperability, and cryptographic capabilities, preceding the "final planned upgrade" V27.