Zcash targets November for NU7 mainnet upgrade with 25-second blocks

Zcash developers announced a proposed schedule for the NU7 network upgrade, with teams aiming for mainnet activation on Nov. 5 after reaching unanimous agreement on the upgrade’s contents and timeline. The upgrade is planned to go live on the project’s testnet on Oct. 6, followed by a final decision on mainnet activation height on Oct. 20 based on testnet performance.

NU7 would reduce Zcash’s target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and integrate a Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The NSM configuration selected for this upgrade is designed to preserve Zcash’s existing halving schedule; according to the developers’ plan, previously removed supply would begin to be reintroduced in February 2031.

Developer Sean Bowe said the upgrade will not introduce new transaction formats and should not meaningfully affect wallets, while noting that full nodes, indexers and block explorers might need adjustments to accommodate the changes. The proposal received overwhelming support from ZEC holders: 98.9% backed keeping halvings and 99.9% of the ZEC-weighted vote supported the shorter block interval.

The timeline was announced amid a notable price move for ZEC. Cointelegraph reported ZEC rose roughly 20% over 24 hours as privacy coins outperformed the broader market; Glassnode data cited in the report showed the privacy sector was about 213% above its level at Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak, while a comparison basket excluding ZEC was up roughly 85% over the past year.