The new details were published with the Core Team’s anniversary post. Here’s what Pioneers need to know.

Amid the growing wave of criticism against the lack of actual progress on many sensitive topics, the Core Team celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of the Open Network last week.

In a lengthy post, they outlined some of the key achievements, developments, and what’s ahead for the protocol. One of those was the introduction of Ecosystem Token Design, aimed at driving real utility to the Mainnet.

Pi has released specific details on the Ecosystem Token Design on Pi Network as a Pi Request for Comment (PRC) to the community. Learn more about ecosystem token design here, and read the GitHub page for further details. https://t.co/aBURnSxtQa

Feedback is welcome, and Pioneers…

— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) February 23, 2026

Ecosystem Token Design

The new framework unveiled by the team for ecosystem tokens on its Mainnet wants to address one of Web3’s most persistent challenges: the disconnect between token issuance and real-world utility.

The initiative focuses on enabling community-created tokens that support functional products and services rather than speculative fundraising, as Pi Network’s Core Team alleged is the case with many blockchain projects. This would be a structural shift they believe is essential for sustainable ecosystem growth.

They admitted that tokens remain one of the most powerful tools in Web3, but many projects fail to deliver meaningful utilization and products, creating a structural misalignment between token issuance and innovation.

In contrast, Pi Network argues that its ecosystem is uniquely positioned to take a different approach. Given its large and active user base and expanding app ecosystem, the team plans to integrate tokens directly into product development and adoption rather than speculative financing.

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Tokens Designed for User Acquisition

The current launch programs promote a new token model centered on utility and user growth, the team said. Instead of issuing such assets simply to raise funds, projects distribute tokens to support user acquisition and embed them directly into product functionality. This structure allows:

• Users to hold projects accountable for product quality
• Continuous feedback and iteration for improvements
• Transparent and merit-based access to tokens
• Token use within real applications

This process enables Pioneers to stake the native token and utilize it to facilitate participation and coordination. The team wants to enhance sustainability and transparency through a few key design features – liquidity-first structure, working product requirement, and user engagement incentives.

They also asked the vast Pi Network community for their feedback and reviews. They will be able to provide their input before the final implementation. It’s worth noting, though, that some of the most recent feedback from Pioneers has been anything but positive, with countless users questioning the overall state of the Pi Network ecosystem.

The company’s total holdings were bought for over $54.5 billion – the current valuation is a lot less.

The ongoing cryptocurrency market correction, which many analysts have decisively called a full-on bear market, has not deterred the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin.

Michael Saylor’s BTC-focused brainchild just announced its latest acquisition, which was relatively modest given the company’s history of billion-dollar purchases in the past.

Strategy spent just under $40 million to acquire 592 BTC at an average price of $67,286 per unit. This puts its entire cryptocurrency portfolio at a whopping 717,722 BTC, purchased for approximately $54.56 billion at an average price of $76,020.

An update shared by Walter Bloomberg informed that Strategy sold 297,940 Class A shares via its at-the-market program in the past week to raise the funds for the BTC purchase. As of yesterday, the firm had $37.4 billion in securities available for future ATM sales, including $7.8 billion in MSTR stock and $20.3 billion in STRK stock.

Strategy has acquired 592 BTC for ~$39.8 million at ~$67,286 per bitcoin. As of 2/22/2026, we hodl 717,722 $BTC acquired for ~$54.56 billion at ~$76,020 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/jSQroB4LnE

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) February 23, 2026

Given the asset’s most recent crash to $66,200 as of press time, this means that the Wall Street-listed firm now sits on a growing unrealized loss of around $7 billion.

Recall that Strategy’s behavior was very different just over a month ago, when it splashed more than a billion dollars to accumulate 13,627 BTC. At the time, its portfolio was well in the green, with an unrealized profit of over $10 billion.

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The landscape has changed substantially since then, with BTC currently trading around 50% away from its all-time high, which led to speculation that the bear market is raging on.

Pi Network Coin price has suffered a harsh reversal in the past few days, moving from last week’s high of $0.2050 to the current $0.1580. It has slipped to its lowest level since February 14.

Pi Coin (PI) token has dropped by over 23% from its highest point this month and 90% from its all-time high. This retreat has pushed its market cap from over $19 billion to $1.4 billion. 

Pi Coin price has dropped amid profit-taking

Pi Network has slumped because of the broader crypto market crash that has affected Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins. Bitcoin dropped below $65,000, while top altcoins like LayerZero, Hyperliquid, Mantle, and Lighter fell by nearly 10% in the last 24 hours.

The retreat is also happening as investors book profits after the recent surge. Pi Network was up by 60% between its lowest and highest levels this month as traders waited for the first anniversary of the mainnet launch. It also jumped amid optimism that Kraken will list it soon.

The other potential reason for the sell-off is that the team’s address on the future did not address key issues. This address focused on priorities like boosting it utility growth and the upcoming KYC-as-a-Service, which will see it compete with World and Humanity Protocol.

However, the video did not address pressing issues that have led to a crash. For example, it did not talk on tokenomics, including the ongoing token unlocks and the fact that it does not have a deflation mechanism like token burns.

The developers also did not talk about ways to make it a decentralized network where the community votes on key issues. Today, all decisions are made by the team, while the obscure Pi Foundation holds billions of tokens. 

Additionally, they did not address the future plans on exchange listings as Pi is only available in a handful of exchanges.

Pi Network Coin price technical analysis

The daily timeframe chart shows that the Pi Coin price has slipped in the past few days. After peaking at $0.2050 last week, it has dropped to $0.1600.

The coin has remained below the 50-day moving average and the Supertrend indicator. It has also slumped below the Ichimoku cloud indicator. 

The most likely Pi Network price forecast is bearish, with the next key target being the year-to-date low of $0.1290. A move to that level may be bullish as it will be a double-bottom pattern whose neckline is at $0.2050. On the other hand, dropping below that level will invalidate the bullish outlook and point to more downside to $0.100.

Key Takeaways

• Strategy currently holds 717,131 BTC acquired at an average cost of $76,027 per coin, totaling an investment basis of over $54 billion.
• Michael Saylor teased the milestone with a “StrategyTracker” chart captioned “The Orange Century,” indicating the firms’s 100th distinct purchase is imminent.
• The accumulation continues despite unrealized losses, with Bitcoin trading near $64,700 compared to the firm’s break-even price.

Crypto investment products recorded $288 million in outflows last week, extending their losing streak to five consecutive weeks — the longest stretch of exits since the launch of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024.

The latest withdrawals bring cumulative outflows to $4 billion, according to CoinShares’ Monday report. Despite the sustained downturn, total outflows remain below the $6 billion recorded over the same period last year, said James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.

Trading activity in crypto ETPs fell to $17 billion last week, the lowest since July 2025, reflecting growing investor apathy, Butterfill said.

Bitcoin funds led weekly outflows as shorts draw inflows

Bitcoin (BTC) remained the key driver of negative sentiment in crypto funds, accounting for $215 million of last week’s outflows.

In contrast, short-Bitcoin products attracted $5.5 million in inflows — the largest of any crypto asset — signaling persistent bearish sentiment. Year to date, Bitcoin ETPs have recorded the deepest net outflows among major assets, totaling about $1.3 billion.

Ether (ETH) funds followed the trend with outflows of $36.5 million, bringing year-to-date losses to almost $500 million. XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) funds saw minor inflows totaling $3.5 million and $3.3 million, respectively.

CoinShares cuts Bitcoin ETP fee amid weak investor interest

CoinShares paired the weak flows backdrop with a pricing move aimed at making its products more competitive.

On Monday, the company announced a permanent cut to the management fee on its flagship CoinShares Bitcoin ETP (BITC), lowering it to 0.15%, effective immediately. One of Europe’s largest Bitcoin ETPs, BITC, launched in January 2021 with a base fee of 0.98%.

Related: Polymarket odds of Bitcoin under $55K at 72% as BTC market cap dives

“This fee reduction reflects our conviction that accessible pricing must be structural, not promotional,” CoinShares CEO and co-founder Jean-Marie Mognetti said.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs see signs of rising activity on Friday

After a series of trading volume declines since early February, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a shift in dynamics Friday, with volumes rising to $3.7 billion from $2.4 billion a day earlier, according to SoSoValue data.

The session brought modest inflows of $88 million, leaving the week in the red with $315.9 million in outflows.

Following a five-week streak of outflows totaling $3.8 billion, the ETFs now report cumulative year-to-date outflows of $4.5 billion.

Magazine: Did a Hong Kong fund kill Bitcoin? Bithumb’s ‘phantom’ BTC: Asia Express