Zcash developers pick the block for NU7, the upgrade that cuts block times to 25 seconds, targeting about Nov. 5

Published Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:10:12 UTC · Updated Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:04:39 UTC · Edited by Bizzle · AI-assisted

🟢Bullish for $ZECDevelopers agreed on an activation block for an upgrade that cuts Zcash block times by two-thirds, though the height is not yet merged and some readiness work is still pending.News sentiment, not financial advice. It reflects the likely impact of this news, not a price prediction.

Summary

Zcash developer Sean Bowe filed a proposal on Tuesday setting the NU7 network upgrade to activate at block 3,543,405, a height agreed at a meeting of Zcash Improvement Proposal (ZIP) editors, with activation expected around Nov. 5, according to CoinDesk and Cointelegraph.

NU7 cuts the target time between Zcash blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, which CoinDesk says roughly triples payment speed; the upgrade has been running on Zcash's test network since early October, both outlets reported.

The date is not fully locked in: Bowe's proposal had two approvals but had not yet been merged into the deployment specification, and node software still has to include the chosen height, CoinDesk reported, while Cointelegraph said the Zcash Foundation's readiness tracker showed six of 12 tasks done, with Zebra node synchronization issues still outstanding.

ZEC rose about 12% over 24 hours to around $1,270 as developers agreed on the activation block, Cointelegraph reported, citing CoinGecko.

Key facts

NU7 removes 60% of the fees collected in each block from circulation, with those coins paid back to miners starting around February 2031, according to CoinDesk. (CoinDesk)
Sprout, Zcash's original privacy system, shuts down at NU7; any coins still there at activation become unspendable, so holders have until early November to move them, CoinDesk reported. (CoinDesk)
An exchange that waits for three confirmations before crediting a ZEC deposit could cut the wait from nearly four minutes to about a minute and a quarter, CoinDesk said. (CoinDesk)
The Zakura NU7 dashboard lists block 3,543,405 as the planned mainnet activation point, around Nov. 5, both CoinDesk and Cointelegraph reported. (Cointelegraph)
Developers have not confirmed whether the outstanding readiness issues could affect the planned activation date, Cointelegraph reported. (Cointelegraph)