Zcash Sets November Target for Major Upgrade to Speed Up Private Payments

Zcash developers are targeting November 5 for the rollout of NU7, an upgrade designed to reduce block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, making private crypto payments significantly faster to confirm. The timeline follows extensive coordination among the network’s core development teams, who reached unanimous agreement after a series of community votes.

Roughly 2.4 million ZEC tokens participated in the voting process, representing about two thirds of eligible coins. The vast majority of voters supported keeping the network’s existing halving schedule while backing February 2031 as the start date for returning collected fees to miners.

Why Faster Blocks Matter for Privacy Payments

Zcash allows users to send and receive digital payments directly without relying on banks or card networks, while shielding sender, recipient, and transaction amounts from public view. Faster block times mean payments receive confirmation more quickly, making direct private transactions more practical for real-world use, such as exchanges releasing funds sooner after a transaction is confirmed.

Reward Structure Adjusted to Offset Faster Blocks

To prevent faster block production from increasing total currency issuance, the upgrade divides mining rewards per block by three while extending the overall halving interval accordingly, keeping long-term token issuance largely unchanged.

New Sustainability Mechanism Introduced

NU7 will also introduce a system that temporarily sets aside about 60% of transaction fees rather than distributing them immediately to miners. These reserved funds are designed to return as supplemental mining rewards starting in 2031, helping offset declining rewards from future halvings.

The upgrade will disable the network’s older transaction format, though most wallets aren’t expected to require major changes. Developers plan to finalize code by the end of September, with testing beginning in early October and a final mainnet activation decision expected by October 20.