Zcash sets November timeline for NU7 mainnet launch featuring 25-second block intervals
The NU7 upgrade will reduce Zcash block intervals to 25 seconds while maintaining the halving schedule, with testnet launch set for Oct. 6.
Development teams working on Zcash have set their sights on Nov. 5 as the target date for deploying NU7 to the mainnet, following "unanimous agreement" among organizations and engineering groups regarding both the upgrade's features and projected rollout schedule.
During an announcement on Thursday, Sean Bowe, a developer for Zcash, revealed that the upgrade is slated for testnet deployment on Oct. 6. Following an evaluation of how NU7 performs on the testnet, a conclusive determination regarding the mainnet upgrade and the specific activation height will be made on Oct. 20.
The network upgrade is set to shrink Zcash's target block spacing from its current 75 seconds down to 25 seconds, while simultaneously disabling version 4 transactions and incorporating the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). Under the selected NSM configuration, Zcash's existing halving schedule would remain intact, with supply that was previously eliminated being reintroduced starting in February 2031.
According to Bowe, NU7 will not bring new transaction formats into the ecosystem and is not expected to have a major impact on wallet functionality. He noted that full nodes, indexers and block explorers might need to implement certain modifications.
Earlier this week on Wednesday, ZEC token holders demonstrated overwhelming support for both the reduced block interval and the preservation of the halving schedule. An impressive 98.9% voted in favor of maintaining the halvings, while an even more substantial 99.9% of the Zcash (ZEC)-weighted voting pool endorsed the proposal for faster blocks.
This timeline announcement coincided with a notable spike in ZEC's market value. ZEC experienced approximately 20% growth within a 24-hour period on Thursday as privacy-focused cryptocurrencies significantly outpaced the broader cryptocurrency market. According to Glassnode data, the privacy coin sector stood 213% higher than its level recorded during Bitcoin's October 2025 peak, whereas a basket that excluded ZEC showed gains of roughly 85% throughout the past year.