- Zcash developers have proposed activating the NU7 mainnet upgrade at block 3,543,405, tentatively around Nov. 5, 2026.
- NU7 would reduce the block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, accelerating payment confirmations.
- The upgrade would change network funding and mining difficulty calculations and discontinue the legacy Sprout privacy pool.
Zcash developers agreed on a proposed activation height for the NU7 mainnet upgrade on Oct. 21, 2026, when developer Sean Bowe submitted a proposal setting block 3,543,405 as the activation point. The upgrade matters for payment speed because it would cut the interval between Zcash blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
Zakura’s public monitoring dashboard estimates that the activation will occur around Nov. 5. However, the agreed block height still must be added to the specification and implemented in the network’s node software.
Zcash, whose native cryptocurrency is ZEC, supports private transactions. NU7 has been running on the Zcash testnet since early October, but its final mainnet activation depends on completion of the technical implementation.
Changes planned for NU7
The upgrade would reduce the time needed for payment confirmations. If a cryptocurrency exchange requires three confirmations before crediting a ZEC deposit, the wait would fall from nearly four minutes to about 75 seconds.
NU7 would also change the mining difficulty mechanism by expanding its averaging window from 17 blocks to 102 blocks. The change is intended to make mining difficulty more stable.
Under the proposed network-funding changes, 60% of transaction fees would go to the Network Sustainability Mechanism, or NSM. The coins are planned to begin returning to miners around February 2031 while the current block-reward halving schedule remains in place.
The upgrade would also shut down Sprout, Zcash’s legacy privacy pool. Coins left in Sprout when NU7 activates would become inaccessible and therefore need to be moved before activation.
Holder support and previous network changes
In an earlier vote on NU7 changes, 99.9% of votes from ZEC holders supported reducing the interval between blocks. The backing came amid growing interest in the asset.
Zcash mining profitability was also reported to have increased, while Bankless co-founder David Hoffman compared ZEC’s performance in 2026 with Ethereum’s performance in 2021.
The Ironwood update has been live on the Zcash network since late July.
Source: Incrypted
