Zcash Prepares NU7 for November and Shortens Block Time
The upgrade makes Zcash transactions faster while also phasing out Sprout, which means old shielded funds become unusable after activation. The fee and mining model is also being adjusted.
Key Takeaways
- Zcash is preparing NU7 for activation around November 5 at block 3,543,405.
- The upgrade cuts block time from 75 to 25 seconds and can confirm transactions faster.
- Sprout and version 4 transactions will disappear completely, making old Sprout balances unusable after activation.
Zcash is getting closer to rolling out NU7, the upgrade meant to make the privacy coin faster and reduce block time from 75 to 25 seconds. Developers have now locked in the exact block where the change is supposed to go live on mainnet, around November 5.
Exact Activation Locked In
Developer Sean Bowe submitted a proposal to lock in activation on block 3,543,405 on Tuesday. That is the height that had already been agreed on by the editors of the Zcash Improvement Proposal, the group that approves changes to the chain's rules.
The upgrade is now also listed in the public dashboard of node software Zakura as a planned mainnet activation. That makes the move to launch a lot more concrete, although the chosen height still has to be added to the specification and the node software before NU7 can actually go live.
What NU7 Changes
The main change is simple: Zcash blocks will come three times faster. For an exchange that waits for three confirmations before crediting a ZEC deposit, the wait time could drop from almost four minutes to about one minute and 15 seconds. NU7 has already been running on testnet since early October.
On top of that, the upgrade temporarily takes 60% of the fees from each block out of circulation. Those coins will start being paid out to miners again from around February 2031, while the existing schedule for cutting mining rewards by 50% stays in place. In doing so, Zcash is trying to keep miner rewards steady over the long term.
Sprout Disappears Completely
There is another important change for users. Sprout, Zcash's original privacy system, is being fully shut off. Version 4 transactions are also going away, and those are needed to move funds out of the old Sprout shielded pool.
That means any ZEC still in that pool after activation will become unusable, even if the owner still has the private keys. So the practical takeaway for holders is that they need to move their funds before activation if they want to keep access.
