Zcash developers are targeting November 5 to activate NU7, the network's next major upgrade. The upgrade reduces block time—the interval between confirmed batches of transactions—from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, a threefold speedup for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
The faster confirmation time is significant for shielded, private transactions built on zero-knowledge proofs, a mathematical system that allows payment validation without revealing sender, recipient, or amount details. Shorter blocks mean private transactions will confirm nearly as fast as traditional card payments.
Mining Reward Adjustment
Faster blocks would normally triple daily coin issuance, but the upgrade includes a companion mechanism that reduces the mining reward per block by roughly the same factor, keeping total new ZEC created each day unchanged.
The adjustment is critical because Zcash, like Bitcoin, uses a halving system that cuts mining rewards every few years until eventual supply cap is reached. Zcash coinholders voted on whether to maintain this model, with 98.9% of votes cast in favor, representing 2.4 million ZEC voted by 66% of the eligible pool.
Long-Term Miner Support
To address revenue concerns as halvings reduce rewards, NU7 introduces a Network Sustainability Mechanism that will set aside approximately 60% of transaction fees. Beginning in February 2031, these banked fees will flow back as supplemental mining rewards to help secure the network.
Developer Sean Bowe said NU7 will hit Zcash's testnet on October 6, with the team setting the final mainnet activation height on October 20 after observing network behavior under the new rules. The Zcash Foundation, Project Tachyon, Valar Group, ZODL, and Shielded Labs reached what developers called unanimous agreement on the upgrade's scope and timeline.
The upgrade does not require changes to ordinary user wallets or introduce new transaction types, meaning day-to-day operations for ZEC holders remain unaffected.
