Zcash NU7 has a developer-agreed activation target: block 3,543,405, expected around November 5. The upgrade would cut block intervals to 25 seconds from 75 seconds and shut down the original Sprout privacy system. As of October 21, the chosen height still needed to be merged into the deployment specification and included in node software.
Key Takeaways
- Developers agreed on block 3,543,405 for activation, expected around November 5, with implementation steps still outstanding.
- Shorter block intervals could reduce a three-confirmation deposit wait from nearly four minutes to about 75 seconds.
- Funds remaining in Sprout would become unspendable at activation, while 60% of block fees would temporarily leave circulation.
Table of Contents
- What Zcash NU7 means for Sprout holders
- How much faster could confirmations become?
- What changes for fees and mining rewards?
- What still has to happen before activation?
What Zcash NU7 means for Sprout holders
For holders using Sprout, the upgrade carries a deadline more consequential than faster payments. Zcash’s original privacy system is set to shut down entirely when NU7 activates. Coins left there would become unspendable.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Mainnet activation target | Block 3,543,405, expected around November 5; specification and node-software integration remained pending. |
| Block interval | Planned reduction from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. |
| Sprout privacy system | Scheduled to shut down at activation; remaining coins would become unspendable. |
| Block fees | 60% would temporarily leave circulation, with repayment to miners starting around February 2031. |
| Mining-reward schedule | The existing schedule for 50% reductions would be preserved. |
How much faster could confirmations become?
NU7 would reduce the interval between blocks—the batches of transactions added to the blockchain—from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. That is a threefold increase in block frequency.
For an exchange requiring three confirmations before crediting a ZEC deposit, the wait could fall from nearly four minutes to about 75 seconds. This does not establish that exchanges have changed their deposit policies.
The upgrade has been running on Zcash’s test network since early October. The newly agreed mainnet height moves the process toward deployment, but testnet operation is distinct from activation on the live network.
What changes for fees and mining rewards?
NU7 also changes when miners receive part of the fees collected in each block. It would temporarily take 60% of those fees out of circulation, with the coins paid back to miners starting around February 2031.
That mechanism is not described as a permanent destruction of the coins. The upgrade would also preserve Zcash’s existing schedule for reducing mining rewards by 50%, rather than replace that schedule with the fee arrangement.
What still has to happen before activation?
Developer Sean Bowe filed the activation proposal on Tuesday after Zcash Improvement Proposal editors agreed on the block height. That group signs off on changes to the blockchain’s rules. Zakura’s public upgrade dashboard now lists the selected block as the planned mainnet activation point.
The remaining distinction is between agreement and integration. As of eight o’clock UTC on Wednesday, Bowe’s proposal had two approvals but had not been merged into the deployment specification, which still showed the mainnet activation height as undecided.
Node software must also include the chosen height before the upgrade can take effect. November 5 is therefore the expected date associated with the selected block, not evidence that the necessary deployment work is already complete.
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