Zcash NU7 Upgrade Goes Live with Faster Block Times and New Fee Structure

Zcash launches NU7 upgrade on primary network

Zcash has successfully activated its major network upgrade, known as NU7, on its mainnet. The mainnet is the primary blockchain where actual transactions take place. The update went live on November 5 at a specific point in the blockchain history called block height 3,543,405.

This upgrade introduces significant technical changes to how the network operates, focusing on speed and long-term sustainability. The most immediate change is a threefold reduction in block times, making the network faster for users.

Key changes in the NU7 update

• Target block intervals have been reduced from 75 seconds down to 25 seconds.
• A new Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) has been activated to manage transaction fees.
• The total supply limit remains fixed at 21 million ZEC coins.
• The upgrade disables older transaction formats, affecting some private funds.

New fee system and network sustainability

The upgrade activates the Network Sustainability Mechanism, which changes how transaction fees are handled. Under this new system, 60% of every block's network fee is removed from circulation and placed into a public reserve. Miners, who provide the computing power to secure the network, receive the remaining 40% of the fees.

Shielded Labs, an organization that supports Zcash development, stated that this mechanism helps address the challenge of maintaining network security as block rewards—the coins given to miners—naturally decrease over time. The funds kept in the public reserve are scheduled to be slowly released back into the network starting in 2031.

Technical adjustments to supply and privacy pools

To keep the coin supply stable with faster block times, the amount of new ZEC created in each block has been reduced. The network also tripled the number of blocks required between halvings. A halving is a scheduled event where the creation of new coins is cut in half; these changes ensure the original halving timeline and total supply cap are preserved.

The upgrade also stops the use of version 4 transactions. This means any ZEC remaining in the original Sprout shielded pool—an early private storage system—is now unspendable. Data shows that approximately 12,224 ZEC were held in that pool at the time of the upgrade.

Market performance following the upgrade

Following the activation, the price of ZEC dropped by about 5.17% over a 24-hour period, trading at roughly $1,254.70. This decline occurred alongside a broader downturn in the digital asset market, with a major index tracking the top 30 cryptocurrencies falling nearly 7% in the same timeframe.

Sources

• The Block