Why the launch of Pi Network's SLICE this week may drive PI prices

Picoin bucked the trend and rose today. SLICE distribution completed.

Picoin is one of the few altcoins that maintain rising today. The price of Pi coin rose slightly by about 1.5%, and is currently trading at around US$0.083. The large-scale cryptocurrency market fell overall, but Pi Coin showed certain resilience. There are some important Pi Network news that needs attention today, so let's get straight to the point.

Pi Network completes SLICE token distribution

Pi Network just announced that Pi Launchpad has completed the distribution of its second testnet token SLICE. The Launchpad app in the Pi browser now displays personal allocation details, issue prices and valid token prices, access to the SLICE liquidity pool, and a chart that tracks SLICE prices relative to Test-Pi.

The Pi team encourages pioneer users to explore the post-launch experience with the new price tracking feature and understand how liquidity pools work. Users can go to the Pi mining app to learn more about SLICE issuance and liquidity pool mechanism.

Pi Launchpad has completed the distribution of its second testnet token SLICE! Explore the post-launch experience and learn how liquidity pools work with new price tracking capabilities! The Launchpad app in the Pi browser displays personal allocation details, issue price and...

This is Pi Network's second testnet token offering. The first test token provides useful data and points out areas where the Launchpad experience needs improvement. The updated participation process is now simpler and clearer, centered around committed amounts and a "fair access and hold" mechanism.

Pi coin chart analysis

I analyzed the Pi coin chart on TradingView, and the following are my thoughts. The Pi Network/USDT chart for the 4-hour cycle remains significantly bearish. Since the end of April, prices have continued to show a clear series of lower highs and lower lows. Every attempt to rebound was suppressed by a sell-off, confirming that sellers still dominated the overall trend. The current price is about $0.0837, well below the declining 200-cycle moving average (about $0.159), which fully demonstrates the weakness of the medium-term structure. Until Picoin prices regain this moving average, any increase should be regarded as a rebound rather than a trend reversal.

The most important support is in the US$0.080 -0.082 region, where prices are currently trying to stabilize. The area has attracted buyers many times in the past week and has become the first line of defense. A clear break below this level will expose recent swing lows of approximately US$0.070 -0.073. If this support also fails, the market may drop further to US$0.065.

On the upside, direct resistance is around US$0.090 -0.095, followed by a stronger supply area between US$0.100 -0.105, where previous rallies have been blocked many times. Looking further up, US$0.120 -0.130 represents the next major resistance area that bulls need to overcome to start changing market sentiment.

The 14-cycle RSI is around 37, below the neutral 50 level, but still above the oversold threshold of 30. This suggests that bearish momentum is still dominant, but the market is approaching a level where sellers may be exhausted. If the RSI rises above 45-50, it will provide the first technical signal that buyers are regaining strength, while a break below 30 could be accompanied by another sharp decline before a meaningful rebound occurs.

The recent rebound from around US$0.072 to US$0.098 failed to form a higher high, and prices subsequently fell back near support. This obstruction strengthens the bearish trend, indicating that buyers currently lack enough volume to sustain a breakthrough. However, compared with the fierce sell-off in early July, the recent K-line showed reduced volatility, which may indicate that the market is entering a fundraising or consolidation stage to prepare for the next major trend.

The most likely short-term scenario is to continue consolidating between US$0.080-US$0.095 and wait for the market to find direction. A breakthrough of US$0.095 -0.100, especially with increased volume and RSI recovering above 50, may trigger a move towards US$0.110 -0.120. On the contrary, if US$0.080 fails to hold, bearish momentum is likely to reignite and US$0.070 will become the next target.

Will the upgrade of Pi Network affect PI prices this week?

The release of SLICE is a positive development for the Pi ecosystem and shows that the team continues to build and test new features. Liquidity pooling mechanisms and price tracking capabilities are crucial to the long-term usefulness of the network. However, will this really push PI prices this week? To be honest, I doubt that.

Testnet token issuance is a development progress in the ecosystem, not a market catalyst. The price of Pi is determined by the dynamics of supply and demand, and the supply is still huge. More than 127 million PI tokens will be unlocked in the coming weeks, and approximately 1.21 billion PI tokens are expected to be unlocked throughout 2026. This is a large amount of supply pouring into the market. The issuance of SLICE did not change the imbalance between supply and demand, nor did it create new demand for PI. This is an internal ecosystem update that most external traders will ignore.

For PI prices to rise, we need to see less selling pressure or a significant increase in demand. Neither has happened so far. Charts remain bearish, the RSI is weak and the 200-cycle moving average is well above current prices. The release of SLICE is good news for the Pi community, but it is not a price catalyst. Today's 1.5% gain is a rebound rather than a trend reversal. The path of least resistance remains downward until supply unlocking slows or demand rebounds.