TLDR
- Zcash developers are targeting November 5 for the NU7 mainnet upgrade, pending a final review on October 20.
- The testnet version of NU7 is set to activate on October 6.
- ZIP 218 proposes cutting block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, tripling block production.
- Coinholders voted to keep the existing halving schedule instead of switching to a smoother issuance curve.
- NU7 will disable version 4 transactions, stopping further spending from the old Sprout shielded pool.
Zcash developers have set November 5, 2026 as the target date for the NU7 mainnet upgrade. The date depends on a final review scheduled for October 20.
The plan was confirmed by developer Sean Bowe in a community update posted on September 17. Several teams, including the Zcash Foundation, Project Tachyon, Valar Group, ZODL and Shielded Labs, agreed on the scope together.
Before the mainnet goes live, the upgrade will first run on a testnet. That test activation is scheduled for October 6.
Developers plan to watch the testnet for about two weeks. They will then choose the exact mainnet activation height on October 20.
Faster Blocks and New Transaction Limits
One of the main changes in NU7 comes from a proposal called ZIP 218. It would cut Zcash’s block time from 75 seconds down to 25 seconds.
That change means roughly three times as many blocks would be produced in the same stretch of time. Total daily ZEC issuance would stay the same because the reward paid per block would shrink to match.
Developers say the shorter block time could help with payments and exchange deposits. Transactions that need to wait for confirmations would clear faster than before.
The upgrade also sets new limits for each block. Blocks would allow up to 330 total actions, including a cap of 330 Orchard actions and 25 Sprout JoinSplits.
Test data suggests Orchard transaction speed could rise from about 2.9 transactions per second to 6.6. Wallet sync bandwidth under one stress test scenario is expected to drop from 271 MB per day to 169 MB.
The faster blocks come with some tradeoffs. A test network using 99 nodes produced a stale block rate of 4.86%, higher than the 3.26% rate predicted in the draft proposal.
Vote Results Shape the Upgrade
Zcash coinholders also voted on other parts of the plan. They chose to keep the current halving schedule instead of switching to a smoother issuance curve, with support near 98.9%.
Voters also picked when funds removed through the Network Sustainability Mechanism should return to circulation. Most support went to a February 2031 start date.
Developer teams agreed to follow that result, calling it the most cautious reading of the vote. They said the date could still be revisited later.
NU7 will also turn off version 4 transactions. This will stop any further spending from the old Sprout shielded pool, which holds under 23,000 ZEC.
The Sprout funds will not be deleted. Developers left open the chance to add a recovery option in the future.
September 30 is the next deadline for the project. Any feature not finished by that date could be dropped from the upgrade before testing starts.
ZEC has risen sharply during this governance process. The price gains cannot be tied to NU7 alone, since other news has also moved the market this month.
On September 18, CoinMarketCap data showed ZEC trading near $1,485. That marked a rise of about 9.6% over 24 hours, with trading volume above $2.6 billion.
Earlier in September, ZEC passed $1,000 after Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into an exchange traded product listed on NYSE Arca. That fund launched with about $304 million in assets before growing further as the price climbed.
