Pi Network After Protocol 26 Could Stellar’s Protocol 27 Reveal What Comes

Pi Network has reached another interesting point in its blockchain development, and the next clues about where the network could be heading may not come entirely from Pi itself.

They may come from Stellar.

A recent community discussion shared by @pitown89 has drawn attention to Stellar's latest protocol developments, particularly Protocol 27, known as Zipper. The argument is straightforward: Pi Network is not Stellar, but its blockchain technology is rooted in an adaptation of the Stellar Consensus Protocol, or SCP. Because of that technological relationship, developments taking place within Stellar can provide useful context when thinking about the kinds of blockchain capabilities that may become increasingly relevant to Pi Network.

Pi Network itself confirms that its consensus algorithm is built on SCP and adapted for its own blockchain architecture. Pi uses a different network design and has its own roadmap, but the underlying connection to Stellar makes the comparison technically interesting.

The biggest development in Stellar's Protocol 27 is not simply about faster transactions or another numerical upgrade.

It is about authorization.

And that could be particularly important for the future of smart wallets, decentralized applications and Web3 accounts.

Pi Network and Stellar Share a Technical Heritage

Before looking at Stellar Protocol 27, one point needs to be made clear.

Pi Network is not running on the Stellar blockchain.

Pi has its own blockchain.

According to Pi Network's official documentation, the Pi blockchain uses a consensus algorithm based on the Stellar Consensus Protocol. Pi adapted SCP using a Federated Byzantine Agreement model designed around its own network of Nodes and Trust Graph.

This distinction matters because developments on Stellar cannot automatically be assumed to be coming to Pi Network.

If Stellar introduces a new feature, it does not mean Pi will immediately receive the same feature.

However, Stellar's development can still be valuable to watch because both ecosystems are rooted in related technological concepts.

Stellar's latest Protocol 27, called Zipper, entered Testnet in June 2026, with the Mainnet upgrade vote scheduled for July 8, 2026 according to the Stellar Development Foundation's upgrade guide.

The upgrade introduces several improvements, with one of the most interesting involving authentication delegation.

What Is Authentication Delegation?

The concept may sound complicated, but the basic idea is relatively simple.

Imagine that you own a bank account.

You are traveling for several weeks and want a trusted family member to have permission to withdraw a limited amount of money to buy groceries.

You do not want to give that person your entire bank account password.

You want to give them a controlled permission.

That is broadly the type of flexibility authentication delegation can enable in blockchain applications.

Stellar Protocol 27 introduces a mechanism allowing custom smart contract accounts to delegate authentication logic to other addresses. The Stellar Development Foundation explains that this allows a custom account to delegate its authentication to another address while supporting delegated signers and nested delegation.

In practical terms, this can create much more flexible account structures.

Instead of thinking about a blockchain account as simply having one private key that controls everything, developers can create programmable rules around who is allowed to authorize specific actions.

That opens the door to more sophisticated Web3 account designs.

Why Smart Wallets Could Become More Important

One of the biggest potential beneficiaries of this type of technology is the smart wallet.

Traditional crypto wallets generally depend heavily on private keys or seed phrases.

Lose the seed phrase and the assets can become inaccessible.

Give someone your private key and you may effectively give them control over everything in the wallet.

Smart wallets attempt to solve some of these limitations by replacing simple key-based control with programmable authorization.

Stellar's developer documentation describes smart wallets as contract accounts that can hold assets and enforce authorization rules through programmable logic. These rules can include spending limits, allowlists, multiple approval requirements, passkeys and other forms of policy-based authorization.

This is an important evolution for Web3.

Instead of asking users to understand complicated blockchain security mechanisms, applications can potentially provide account experiences that resemble familiar Web2 services while retaining blockchain-based ownership.

For mainstream adoption, that could be extremely important.

From Private Keys to Programmable Permissions

The traditional crypto model is relatively simple.

A private key signs a transaction.

The blockchain verifies the signature.

If the signature is valid, the transaction can proceed according to the network's rules.

Smart contract accounts introduce another layer.

The account itself can contain rules determining what is permitted.

For example, an account could require two approvals before a large transaction is executed. It could impose a daily spending limit. It could allow a temporary session key to authorize certain actions. It could also support passkeys or hardware-based authentication.

Stellar's documentation specifically highlights programmable authorization, spending limits, allowlists and multi-factor approval as potential applications for smart wallets.

This is where Protocol 27 becomes interesting for the broader Crypto industry.

The evolution of blockchain is increasingly moving beyond simply transferring Coin from one address to another.

The next stage is making blockchain accounts more flexible.

Protocol 27 Introduces a New Approach to Delegation

Stellar's Zipper upgrade includes authentication delegation through CAP-71.

The new functionality allows custom smart contract accounts to delegate their authentication logic to another address. Two new host functions support this process, while a new credential type allows delegated signers and potentially nested signatures to be included within a single authorization entry.

The significance is not only technical.

It can reduce complexity for developers.

Previously, delegated authorization could require multiple authorization entries and additional simulation work. Stellar says the new mechanism simplifies this process and can reduce transaction size by allowing delegated signers to be bundled into a single authorization entry.

That can matter when building applications at scale.

A blockchain feature becomes more useful when developers can implement it without creating excessive complexity for users or applications.

Security Is Another Major Focus

Protocol 27 is not only about flexibility.

Security is also part of the upgrade.

Stellar's new SOROBAN_CREDENTIALS_ADDRESS_V2 credential type uses a signature payload that explicitly includes the signer's address. The change is designed to prevent certain replay scenarios involving accounts that share private keys when the invocation payload does not otherwise bind the signer to a specific address.

This is a relatively narrow security improvement rather than evidence of a broad vulnerability affecting ordinary Stellar users.

Stellar explicitly describes the issue as limited and says the existing credential type remains valid until Protocol 28, giving developers time to migrate.

That detail is important because blockchain security improvements often involve small technical changes that can have significant implications for developers.

What Could This Mean for Pi Network?

This is where speculation needs to stop and technical analysis needs to begin.

There is currently no official confirmation that Pi Network will implement Stellar Protocol 27's specific authentication delegation features.

Pi Network has its own blockchain and its own development roadmap.

Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that Pi Network is automatically receiving Stellar's Zipper features.

What can reasonably be said is that Stellar's development provides an example of where blockchain infrastructure is evolving.

Pi Network is also developing its smart contract infrastructure.

The network has been building capabilities around smart contracts and developer tools, including a Testnet RPC Server that allows applications to communicate with the Pi blockchain. Pi Network has described this infrastructure as an important component for developers building and testing smart contracts.

That makes developments such as smart wallets and programmable authorization relevant to watch.

If Pi's smart contract ecosystem continues to mature, developers could eventually seek similar forms of flexible account management.

But whether Pi implements them, and how, remains a decision for the Pi Core Team.

Why This Matters for Picoin

For holders and users of Picoin, these developments may seem far removed from price discussions.

In reality, they could be more important than short-term market speculation.

The long-term value of a blockchain ecosystem depends heavily on what users can actually do with the network.

A payment system is useful.

A payment system combined with programmable accounts is more flexible.

A network that supports programmable accounts, smart contracts, decentralized applications, identity systems and developer tools can potentially become a much broader Web3 platform.

That is why infrastructure upgrades matter.

The objective should not simply be to make Pi transactions possible.

The larger objective is to make the Pi ecosystem useful.

The Road Toward Web3 Is About User Experience

One of the biggest barriers facing Crypto adoption is complexity.

Users are often expected to understand seed phrases, private keys, gas fees, transaction signing, wallet addresses and security practices.

For experienced crypto users, these concepts may be normal.

For ordinary users, they can be intimidating.

Smart wallets and programmable authorization could help reduce some of this complexity.

For example, a user could potentially authorize an application through a passkey rather than manually managing complicated cryptographic credentials. Stellar's documentation notes that smart wallets can support WebAuthn, passkeys, hardware keys, policy signers and other authorization methods.

That kind of user experience could be important if blockchain technology is ever going to reach hundreds of millions or billions of mainstream users.

For Pi Network, which has consistently emphasized accessibility, this area could eventually become especially relevant.

But again, relevance does not equal confirmation.

There is no official announcement saying that Pi will copy Stellar's smart wallet architecture.

Source: Xpost

Protocol 28 Is Already Part of the Conversation

Another interesting detail is that Stellar Protocol 27 is not necessarily the end of the story.

Stellar's upgrade guide states that the existing SOROBAN_CREDENTIALS_ADDRESS credential remains valid until Protocol 28, when AddressV2 is expected to replace it.

This illustrates something important about blockchain development.

Protocol upgrades rarely represent a final destination.

They are part of a continuous development cycle.

One upgrade introduces a capability.

Developers begin using it.

The ecosystem identifies limitations.

A later protocol improves the original design.

That is how blockchain infrastructure evolves.

Pi Network is likely to face the same reality as its own smart contract ecosystem becomes more sophisticated.

What Pioneers Should Watch

For Pi Pioneers, several areas are worth monitoring.

The first is Pi Network's official smart contract development.

The second is improvements to developer infrastructure.

The third is the evolution of account and wallet functionality.

The fourth is security.

The fifth is whether Pi applications begin using more sophisticated authorization models.

These developments may tell us more about the future of Pi Network than short-term Coin price movements.

If Pi eventually introduces more programmable account functionality, smart wallets or delegated authorization, the user experience could change significantly.

But until the Pi Core Team announces such features, they should be viewed as possibilities rather than confirmed developments.

The Bigger Picture After Protocol 26

The most interesting question may therefore not be, "Will Pi copy Stellar Protocol 27?"

The better question is, "What direction is blockchain account technology moving toward, and how might Pi respond?"

The answer from Stellar is clear.

Blockchain accounts are becoming more programmable.

Authorization is becoming more flexible.

Smart wallets are becoming more sophisticated.

Passkeys and multi-factor authorization are becoming increasingly relevant.

And smart contracts are evolving beyond simple application logic toward programmable account infrastructure.

Pi Network is developing its own blockchain within this rapidly changing environment.

Its technical foundation comes from a model adapted from Stellar's SCP, but Pi has developed its own network architecture and ecosystem.

That means Stellar's upgrades should not be treated as a preview of Pi's official roadmap.

They should instead be treated as a technological signal.

The blockchain industry is moving toward more flexible, programmable and user-friendly accounts.

Pi Network's Next Move Could Be More Important Than the Protocol Number

After Protocol 26, the Pi community is naturally asking what comes next.

The answer may not be found in a single protocol number.

It may be found in what developers can actually build.

If Pi Network continues expanding its smart contract infrastructure, the next major stage could involve applications that require more sophisticated authorization, programmable wallets and flexible account management.

Stellar's Protocol 27 demonstrates how that evolution can work.

Its Zipper upgrade introduces authentication delegation, stronger address-bound credentials and infrastructure designed to make programmable authorization more practical.

Pi Network is not Stellar, and there is no official confirmation that these exact features are coming to Pi.

But because Pi's consensus technology is adapted from Stellar's SCP, keeping an eye on Stellar remains a useful way to understand the broader technological direction of the ecosystem.

For Pioneers, the most important takeaway is therefore not that Pi Network will necessarily copy Protocol 27.

It is that the next generation of Web3 may be less about complicated private keys and more about flexible, programmable ownership.

If Pi Network can successfully translate that evolution into a simple experience for ordinary users, its blockchain could become considerably more versatile.

And that may ultimately matter far more for the future of Pi Coin than any short-term market prediction.