Gemini has replaced the software it uses to follow the Zcash blockchain, making the change ahead of a planned network upgrade that would cut the time between new blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The exchange said its new Zakura nodes caught up with the latest Zcash block in a little over six hours during deployments, compared with close to a day for the Zebra software previously in use, according to CoinDesk.
Faster recovery for Gemini’s Zcash systems
Zakura is software that follows Zcash and checks the network’s transaction history. When a node starts for the first time, is replaced, or falls behind, it must rebuild a current copy of that history before it can reliably process new activity.
Gemini’s reported result measures that catch-up process. In a separate test published by Zakura’s developers, the software completed the task in four hours and 20 minutes, while Zebra took nearly 21 hours. The developers also described a way to use a saved copy of recent network data when bringing a replacement computer online. In their test, that method was about 680 times faster than downloading Zcash’s history from the beginning.
The operational change is relevant because cryptocurrency exchanges run their own computers to monitor the blockchains supporting the assets they list. A deposit of Zcash, whose token is known as ZEC, is not immediately credited for trading simply because it has been sent. Gemini’s system must first locate the transaction on the Zcash network and verify it.
If that system stops working or falls behind, an exchange may pause ZEC deposits and withdrawals until its copy of the network is current. The time required to restore service can therefore depend on how quickly replacement infrastructure synchronizes with the blockchain.
Zcash prepares for the NU7 upgrade
Gemini’s move comes before Zcash’s planned NU7 upgrade. The change is intended to make new blocks—the batches of transactions added to the network—arrive every 25 seconds rather than every 75 seconds.
That schedule would require computers following Zcash to receive and check new transaction batches three times as often. Developers are targeting Nov. 5 for activation on the mainnet, the live version of the network. Before that, NU7 is scheduled to reach Zcash’s test network on Oct. 6. Developers plan to use the test results before deciding on the mainnet date.
Gemini has not published testing showing how Zakura performs under NU7’s faster block schedule. The currently reported synchronization results show an improvement over the exchange’s previous software, but they do not establish how the new system will behave once the block interval is reduced.
The Winklevoss connection
Gemini is controlled by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, whose involvement with Zcash extends beyond the exchange’s trading and custody operations.
Their investment firm led a $59 million financing round for Cypherpunk Technologies, a publicly traded company that holds and mines ZEC. In August, a Winklevoss affiliate sold Cypherpunk a Zcash mining fleet for $33 million. Cypherpunk has also said that Gemini manages trading and custody for its ZEC holdings.
The software switch therefore takes place as companies connected to Gemini maintain broader commercial interests in Zcash. The source material does not indicate that those interests were the reason for the technology change.
ZEC market picture
Moneyiar market data showed Zcash at $1,411.8343615509 as of 09:08 on Oct. 1, 2026, with a 24-hour gain of 0.28% and a seven-day decline of 6.11%.
Other assets in the supplied Moneyiar data were also mixed. Aster was priced at $0.7459884751 at 09:09, down 2.52% over 24 hours but up 6.55% over seven days. JUST stood at $0.1343576883, up 4.99% in 24 hours and 21.37% over seven days. WINkLink was at $0.0000511198 at 09:08, rising 8.5% over 24 hours and 31.67% over the week.
These figures are Moneyiar data at the stated times. They describe market prices and recent percentage changes, while Gemini’s software change concerns the infrastructure used to process and verify Zcash transactions.
