Zcash developers are targeting November 5 for the activation of the network’s NU7 upgrade after reaching unanimous agreement on its contents and proposed rollout schedule.
Before the mainnet launch, NU7 is scheduled to go live on Zcash’s testnet on October 6. Developers plan to review the testnet results before making a final decision on October 20.
Faster blocks and revised network economics
The upgrade would reduce Zcash’s target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. It would also disable version 4 transactions and introduce the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM).
The selected NSM configuration is intended to preserve Zcash’s halving schedule. Under the plan, previously removed issuance would be reintroduced beginning in February 2031.
Zcash developer Sean Bowe said NU7 will not add new transaction formats and is not expected to require major wallet changes. Full nodes, indexers and block explorers may nevertheless need updates to support the upgrade.
Community backs the proposal
ZEC holders strongly supported the main elements of NU7 in a vote held Wednesday. Some 98.9% backed retaining the network’s halving schedule, while 99.9% of the ZEC-weighted vote supported reducing block times.
The development timeline comes as ZEC has recently outperformed much of the broader crypto market. The token gained approximately 20% over a 24-hour period on Thursday. Glassnode data indicated that the privacy-coin sector was 213% above its level at Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak, while a basket excluding ZEC had risen about 85% over the previous year.
