Zcash Sets Its Sights on Next Major Network Upgrade
The popular privacy chain is leveling up next month with faster blocks and beyond.
The Zcash ecosystem has landed on a firm rollout plan for NU7, the privacy coin's 9th major network upgrade, which was confirmed via a Zcash Community Forum post with mainnet activation slated for November 2026.
What’s the Scoop?
Timeline: Testnet activation lands October 6th, with a final mainnet call set for October 20th (i.e. a week ahead of Zcon) before NU7 flips live on mainnet November 5th.
What’s changing: Per ZIP-218, block times are planned to drop from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, tripling block frequency, alongside new per-pool action limits, the retirement of v4 transactions, and the integration of Zcash's fee-burning Network Sustainability Mechanism.
Money question: That lattermost mechanism reissues burned fees rather than destroying them, and it was a sticking point in NU7 polling. The community settled on keeping Zcash's existing halving schedule intact, with reissued supply flowing back starting February 2031.
