Pi Network has launched a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) server on the Testnet!

This is an important infrastructure milestone supporting the development, testing, and future deployment of smart contracts within the Pi ecosystem.

This release is based on the node and protocol upgrade announced on Pi Day 2026, when Pi's mainnet blockchain was upgraded to Protocol 20, laying the foundation for smart contract capabilities. The Pi mainnet protocol upgrade is ongoing, and the network has now been upgraded to Protocol 21.

Functions of the RPC Server
The RPC server is an interface that allows applications to communicate with the blockchain by sending requests and receiving responses.

This infrastructure is crucial for building practical smart contract-based applications. The RPC server supports two basic types of smart contract interactions:

Read-only calls (no fee required): Developers can query smart contract data, such as account status, balances, or application-specific information, without paying gas fees. These operations do not change the blockchain state and can be executed instantly via RPC endpoints.
State-changing transactions (fee required): Operations that modify the blockchain state, such as executing contract logic or updating data, still require standard transaction processing and associated fees.
Many real-world applications rely heavily on fast and free read access. By enabling efficient communication between applications and the blockchain, the RPC server unlocks the following capabilities for developers:

Building reactive applications that depend on real-time blockchain data;
Testing and simulating smart contract behavior in controlled environments; and
Integrating backend services and user interfaces into the Pi blockchain.
Developers: Try out the RPC server!
The RPC server is currently available on the Pi Testnet for developers to explore and test.
Node operators: Add your own RPC server!
Node operators or enterprises relying on smart contract services can also add their own RPC servers, whether for internal use or public access. $PI