The popular privacy channel is going to the next level next month with faster blocks and beyond.
The Zcash ecosystem has landed on a firm rollout plan for NU7, the 9th major upgrade of the privacy coin’s network, which was confirmed via a Zcash Community Forum Post with mainnet activation planned for November 2026.
What’s the scoop?
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Chronology: Testnet activation arrives on October 6, with a final mainnet call scheduled for October 20 (i.e. a week before Zcon) before NU7 goes live on mainnet on November 5.
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What changes: According to ZIP-218, block times are expected to drop from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, tripling the block frequency, alongside new per-pool action limits, the removal of v4 transactions, and the integration of Zcash’s paid network sustainability mechanism.
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Money question: The latter mechanism reissues fees instead of destroying them, and it was a sticking point in the NU7 poll. The community decided to keep Zcash’s existing halving schedule intact, with a re-released supply returning from February 2031.
