Zcash developers have selected the blockchain block where the network’s NU7 upgrade is expected to activate, a step that could reduce the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The proposed activation point is block 3,543,405, which is currently expected around Nov. 5, although the date is not final until the change is incorporated into the deployment specification and node software.
Upgrade aims to shorten payment waits
The NU7 upgrade changes how frequently Zcash adds new blocks, with each block containing a batch of transactions. Under the proposed rules, the interval would fall to 25 seconds from 75 seconds, effectively making blocks arrive three times as often.
That could materially reduce the time users wait for transactions to receive confirmations. For example, an exchange requiring three confirmations before crediting a Zcash deposit could reduce the wait from almost four minutes to roughly 75 seconds.
The upgrade has already been running on Zcash’s test network since early October. Its planned mainnet activation point—the block at which the new rules would apply to the live network—is listed on Zakura’s public upgrade dashboard.
According to CoinDesk, Zcash developer Sean Bowe submitted the activation proposal on Tuesday. The block height had been agreed by editors of Zcash Improvement Proposals, known as ZIP editors. That group approves changes to the blockchain’s rules.
Activation still requires final software work
Selecting the block height does not by itself complete the upgrade process. Bowe’s proposal had received two approvals, but as of 08:00 UTC on Wednesday it had not yet been merged into the deployment specification. That specification still showed the mainnet activation height as undecided at that time.
The chosen block must also be included in the node software used to operate Zcash. Until those steps are completed, the planned activation remains subject to the final deployment process rather than being a fully confirmed launch date.
If the proposed schedule holds, the network will switch to NU7 at block 3,543,405 around Nov. 5. The source material does not provide a more precise activation time.
Fee changes and the end of Sprout
NU7 includes changes beyond faster block production. The upgrade will temporarily remove 60% of the fees collected in each block from circulation. Those coins are scheduled to be returned to miners starting around February 2031, while Zcash’s existing timetable for cutting mining rewards in half remains in place.
The upgrade will also disable Sprout, Zcash’s original privacy system. Any funds still held in Sprout when NU7 activates will become unspendable. Holders of those funds therefore have until the expected early-November activation to move them.
Sprout is separate from the broader Zcash network: the change does not describe the entire blockchain as shutting down, but specifically ends support for that original privacy system. The unspendability of remaining Sprout funds makes the transition deadline a significant operational detail for affected holders.
Current Zcash market picture
Moneyiar market data recorded at 08:28 on Oct. 21, 2026, showed Zcash (ZEC) at $1,274.0754759843. The token was up 12.82% over 24 hours and 1.63% over seven days.
The supplied Moneyiar data also showed Velo (VELO) at $0.0041499219 at 08:29, 2026, with a 3.28% 24-hour gain and a 10.33% seven-day decline. Velodrome Finance (VELO) was recorded at $0.0370131157 at 06:09, with a 5.56% 24-hour increase and a 4.96% seven-day fall.
These figures describe market prices and percentage changes at the stated times; they do not establish that the ZEC move was caused by the proposed upgrade.
