Pi coin price climbs 12% as Feb. 15 mainnet node upgrade cut‑off nears

Pi coin price climbed double‑digits on Friday as the network’s long‑running experiment in “mobile‑first” crypto collides with hard mainnet deadlines and bruised holders looking for a bottom.

Pi coin (PI) price has jumped around 12% from recent lows as the Feb. 15 mainnet node upgrade deadline approaches, with traders debating whether this is short‑covering or a real bottom.

Pi coin price action and network stress

Pi price changed hands near $0.152 on TradingView’s CRYPTO:PI3USD pair at midday in Europe, up about 12.15% on the session after a brutal drawdown that has left the token more than 60% lower over six months and roughly 50% below its all‑time high near $2.99. The move comes as the Pi Core Team pushes a Feb. 15 cut‑off for mandatory node upgrades, with CoinMarketCal flagging the deadline as a key on‑chain event for operators. Coinpedia framed the rush bluntly, saying the core team has “set Feb 15 deadline for mainnet node upgrade” as part of efforts to stabilize the ecosystem after last year’s collapse.

Traders remain split on whether the latest Pi price bounce is anything more than short‑covering into a crowded downtrend. One recent TradingView idea described PI3USD as “in a clear multi‑day downtrend, with successive lower highs and lower lows,” warning that “until $0.535 is reclaimed convincingly, short setups dominate.” Another analyst argued that after a 95% peak‑to‑trough collapse, Pi “has experienced…steady sideways consolidation” typical of post‑capitulation accumulation phases, with a “potential bottom…forming” as exhausted sellers step aside.

Macro backdrop and majors

The backdrop for Pi price is a softer but still elevated digital asset complex. Bitcoin (BTC) trades around $66,306, with a 24‑hour range roughly between $65,243 and $68,309 and turnover near $48.4B as traders digest the expiry of about $2.5B in BTC options highlighted by crypto.news market coverage. Ethereum (ETH) changes hands close to $1,949, with 24‑hour lows near $1,902 and highs just under $1,997 on volumes of about $16.9B, leaving the asset down less than 1% on the day. Solana (SOL) trades near $78.24, roughly 1.3% lower over the last 24 hours and down about 60% versus a year ago, according to YCharts data sourced from CoinGecko and CryptoCompare.

For now, Pi price is attempting a fragile recovery in a market still dominated by Bitcoin’s options calendar and macro risk appetite. Whether the node‑upgrade deadline turns into a genuine inflection or just another sell‑the‑news event will be decided on‑chain over the coming sessions.