Zcash Developers Agree on November NU7 Plan for 25-Second Blocks

Zcash developers have agreed on block 3,543,405 as a proposed activation point for NU7, a network upgrade that would shorten the target interval between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.

That height is expected to arrive around Nov. 5. The shorter interval would produce blocks three times as often and reduce the average wait for a first transaction confirmation. The date remains an estimate because activation depends on reaching the specified block height.

NU7 would also remove 60% of the transaction fees collected in each block from circulation. The plan calls for those funds to be returned to miners starting in February 2031. Zcash’s existing block reward halving schedule would continue.

The upgrade would disable version 4 transactions and close Sprout, Zcash’s original privacy pool. Zcash (ZEC) left in Sprout when NU7 activates would become unspendable unless transferred beforehand.

The agreed height still needs to be added to the deployment specification and incorporated into compatible node software ahead of the expected Nov. 5 activation.