Zcash Developers Set NU7 Upgrade for November, Cutting Block Times to 25 Seconds
Zcash moves toward a threefold faster payment network
Zcash developers have settled on the block at which the network's NU7 upgrade will switch on. Zcash is a blockchain designed to keep transaction details private.
Developer Sean Bowe filed a proposal on Tuesday to activate the upgrade at block 3,543,405. That block height was agreed at a meeting of Zcash Improvement Proposal (ZIP) editors, the group that approves changes to the blockchain's rules.
The public upgrade dashboard for node software Zakura now lists that block as the planned mainnet activation point, which is expected around Nov. 5. Mainnet is the live version of the network that carries real transactions.
What NU7 changes
- Block times fall to 25 seconds from 75 seconds. Blocks are the batches of transactions added to the chain.
- For an exchange that waits for three confirmations before crediting a ZEC deposit, the wait could drop from nearly four minutes to about a minute and a quarter.
- NU7 takes 60% of the fees collected in each block out of circulation. Those coins will be paid back to miners starting around February 2031, while keeping Zcash's existing schedule for cutting mining rewards by 50%.
- Zcash's original privacy system, Sprout, shuts down entirely. Coins still held there when NU7 activates become unspendable, so holders have until activation in early November to move them.
Testing and remaining steps
The upgrade has run on Zcash's test network since early October.
Bowe's proposal had two approvals, but as of 08:00 UTC Wednesday it had not yet been merged into the deployment specification, which still listed the mainnet activation height as undecided. Node software must also include the chosen block height before the upgrade can take effect.
What is confirmed
Developers agreed on block 3,543,405 as the activation point, Bowe filed the proposal, and Zakura's dashboard lists that block as the planned mainnet activation point around Nov. 5. The planned changes include the shorter block times, the fee handling, and the shutdown of Sprout.
What is still unclear
The activation height still has to be merged into the deployment specification and included in node software. Until both steps happen, the upgrade cannot take effect, and the specification still described the mainnet activation height as undecided at the time of the report.
Why it matters for Zcash users
Shorter block times could mean faster confirmation for payments and deposits. The Sprout shutdown is time-sensitive: anyone with funds in that older privacy system needs to move them before activation or the coins become unspendable.
Sources
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