Zcash holders face a snapshot deadline to qualify for an upcoming governance vote on major network proposals concerning the asset's issuance model and block speeds. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency recently traded near its highest level since 2018, surging about 62% over the week to reach as high as $880 before retracing to around $830.
To participate in the vote, holders must hold spendable shielded ZEC in Ironwood when the blockchain reaches block 3,459,350, according to terms outlined by vote organizers Valar Group and Project Tachyon. The snapshot was estimated to occur around 19:00 UTC on Aug. 24, with voting scheduled to run from Aug. 25 until Sept. 14.
Proposed Changes to Issuance and Network Performance
The upcoming vote covers several consequential questions regarding how Zcash operates. One core proposal involves replacing periodic halvings with a gradual issuance curve, while recycling ZEC removed from circulation through the Network Sustainability Mechanism into future block rewards. This adjustment would not alter the total supply cap of Zcash.
Additional proposals include:
- Block Speed: Cutting target block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds under ZIP 218, tripling daily block production while adjusting rewards to keep overall issuance broadly unchanged.
- Return of Circulation: Determining when ZEC removed from circulation should return via block rewards, with options including immediate implementation, February 2027, or February 2031.
- Sprout Pool: Disabling transactions tied to the deprecated Sprout pool.
- NU7 Launch Scope: Deciding whether the NU7 network upgrade should launch without features that miss a Sept. 30 implementation deadline or be delayed until all approved changes are ready.
Advisory Nature of the Vote
Organizers stated they will consider poll results representative of coinholders if at least 1 million ZEC participates in at least one of the five questions, including abstentions. Because the poll functions as a signaling vote rather than an automatic protocol change, any approved proposals will still require subsequent development and deployment before becoming official Zcash consensus rules.
As of press time, Zcash holds a market capitalization of approximately $14.55 billion and ranks as the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with a circulating supply of 16.84 million ZEC.
