Zcash sets NU7 activation block for early November
Zcash developers set NU7 for about Nov. 5, cutting block intervals from 75 to 25 seconds and potentially shortening how long users wait for payment confirmations.
Crypto Daybook Newsroom2 min read
Zcash developers have set block 3,543,405 as the activation point for NU7, an upgrade expected around Nov. 5 that would cut the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25. The change could shorten waits for users and services that wait for payment confirmations. A Zcash Improvement Proposal editors’ agreement was recorded in the NU7 activation-height proposal, which merged on Oct. 21.
How could 25-second blocks affect payments?
Blocks are batches of transactions added to the blockchain, and a confirmation arrives when a transaction is included in one. With blocks targeted every 25 seconds instead of every 75, a service waiting for three confirmations could see its target wait fall from nearly four minutes to about 75 seconds, according to CoinDesk’s report on NU7. Actual block times can vary, and services set their own confirmation rules.
The change increases how often blocks are produced; it does not mean every part of a payment becomes three times faster. NU7 also adjusts the reward miners receive per block to preserve Zcash’s existing issuance and halving schedule, CoinDesk reported.
What else changes when NU7 activates?
NU7 will direct 60% of transaction fees into the Network Sustainability Mechanism, a reserve intended to fund future miner rewards. CoinDesk reports those funds are scheduled to return through block rewards starting around February 2031.
The upgrade also retires Sprout, Zcash’s oldest privacy system. The NU7 proposal says Sprout transfers use transaction version 4, which becomes invalid after activation; funds remaining in the Sprout pool will therefore be unspendable. Holders with funds there need to move them before the change takes effect.
Is the November date final?
The activation block has been set, but the upgrade is still pending on Zcash mainnet. Zakura’s NU7 dashboard lists block 3,543,405 as expected around Nov. 5, 2026. The activation depends on the network reaching that block, and node software must support the new rules. The date is a target, not a guarantee that the upgrade will activate on that day.
References
- NU7 activation-height proposal — github.com
- CoinDesk’s report on NU7 — coindesk.com