Zcash holders vote for faster 25-second blocks, keep halving schedule
Zcash community backs faster blocks and keeps halvings on schedule
Zcash (ZEC) token holders have voted overwhelmingly to cut the network’s target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds as part of the upcoming NU7 upgrade, while keeping the existing halving schedule for new coin issuance. The results of the coinholder vote were published Monday on the Zcash community forum.
A block is a batch of transactions added to a blockchain. Shortening the time it takes to produce a block means transactions are confirmed more quickly.
Key numbers from the vote
- 99.9% of the ZEC-weighted vote supported faster 25-second blocks.
- 98.9% supported keeping the halving schedule unchanged.
- About 97% voted to delay the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) reissuance until February 2031.
- 2.3 million ZEC tokens voted to delay NSM, while roughly 70,239 tokens voted to start it as soon as possible.
- Halvings are automatic cuts that reduce the number of new ZEC coins created with each block by half.
What the proposal changes
According to the official proposal, ZIP-0218, the shorter interval would lower the expected wait for a transaction’s first confirmation. To keep the total amount of new ZEC created each day the same, the number of new coins released per block would fall.
Token holders also backed a rule that would exclude features not implemented by September 30 from the upgrade. Developers plan to ship the final items for NU7 by that cut-off date, though the dates for testnet and mainnet activation have not yet been set.
The coinholder vote was separate from polls run by ZecHub, the Zcash Community Advisory Panel (ZCAP), and other community groups. Voting power was based on eligible ZEC holdings, and eligibility was limited to spendable ZEC held in the Ironwood shielded pool at the time of the voting snapshot. A shielded pool is a privacy feature that hides transaction details on the blockchain.
How the advisory panel disagreed
While coinholders strongly backed keeping halvings, the Zcash Community Advisory Panel showed a closer split. According to the panel’s results, 57 members favored replacing halvings with a gradual issuance curve, while 54 favored keeping the current halving system.
Why the NSM was put on hold
The NSM is a proposed change to Zcash’s economic model designed to recycle part of the network’s transaction fees back to miners instead of relying only on block rewards. It was proposed in January in response to concerns that block rewards, which shrink with each halving, may eventually be too low to pay miners to secure the network.
The NSM is designed to burn and recycle 60% of ZEC transaction fees into future block rewards, without ever pushing the total supply past Zcash’s 21 million coin maximum. With 97% of voters backing a delay, the proposal will not take effect until at least February 2031.
Market context at the time of the vote
According to CoinMarketCap data cited in the source, ZEC rose 3.8% in the 24 hours surrounding the vote, extending a 132% rally over the previous month.
What happens next
Developers have set a September 30 deadline for shipping the final pieces of the NU7 upgrade. The dates for activating the changes on testnet and on the main Zcash network have not been announced.