Zcash Is About to Get 3x Faster With NU7, and ZEC Traders Are Already Buying In

Developers have established the activation date for Zcash’s upcoming major network overhaul. Network Upgrade 7, commonly referred to as NU7, is scheduled to deploy at block 3,543,405, an event anticipated around November 5. Once live, the upgrade will triple the speed of transactions on the privacy-centric blockchain by generating a new block every 25 seconds instead of the previous 75.

Traders have not waited for the official rollout; the token is currently changing hands near $1,300, marking a gain of over 15% during the past week. ZEC moved from approximately $1,060 on October 19 to a peak near $1,360 on October 21. Its market valuation now stands at roughly $22 billion, securing its position as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency asset.

Zcash Payments Will Confirm in a Third of the Time

A block consists of a grouped set of transactions added to the blockchain, and a payment remains unsettled until it is included in one. With blocks currently taking an average of 75 seconds to form, the wait for an initial confirmation is just over a minute. This new upgrade reduces that duration to 25 seconds.

This marks the second instance in which Zcash has accelerated its payment processing through a network upgrade. The Blossom upgrade in December 2019 previously cut block times in half, dropping them from 150 seconds down to 75. NU7 advances this objective further, positioning Zcash more competitively for everyday transactions, where waiting several minutes for a merchant or exchange confirmation creates unnecessary friction.

The 21 Million Cap Stays Untouched

Faster block creation does not translate to an increase in the supply of newly minted ZEC entering circulation. The network currently issues a fixed amount of 1.5625 new coins per block. Following Network Upgrade 7, three blocks will emerge within the identical 75-second timeframe, and the reward will essentially be divided among them. Consequently, the individual block reward decreases to roughly one-third of its current level.

Through this mechanism, the volume of newly created ZEC entering circulation remains consistent with previous rates. The network’s absolute hard cap of 21 million coins stays unchanged, with approximately 16.99 million already in circulation.

Miners Get a Cushion for Future Halvings

NU7 will also modify how transaction fees are distributed to miners. At present, the miner who successfully appends a block retains 100% of the fees contained within it. After the upgrade takes effect, miners will keep only 40% of the fees, while the remaining 60% will be withheld, accumulated, and subsequently disbursed to miners as supplementary rewards starting in February 2031.

This adjustment is connected to the Zcash halving schedule. The block reward is cut in half roughly every four years, which diminishes miner revenue with each occurrence. As income decreases during halvings, certain miners may find it unprofitable to continue operating their hardware. Maintaining a consistent reserve of deferred fees provides miners with an alternative income source that does not vanish when the subsidy drops, an essential factor for a proof-of-work network that relies on active miners to maintain security.

Sprout coins have a deadline

NU7 additionally concludes support for Sprout, the foundational privacy pool introduced at the launch of Zcash in 2016. Any ZEC remaining in the Sprout pool once the upgrade activates will become entirely immobile. Holders possessing assets in that pool have approximately two weeks to transfer their funds into a contemporary pool.

The upgrade has been active on the testnet since early October, granting wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges adequate preparation time ahead of the transition.

ZEC traders are positioning ahead of Nov. 5

Derivatives trading has intensified alongside spot market purchases. Data from CoinGecko indicates that perpetual futures open interest stands near $4.55 billion, roughly four times the token’s $1.15 billion in 24-hour spot volume. Such high levels of leverage often amplify price fluctuations in both directions, particularly in the lead-up to a concrete milestone like an activation block.

No on-chain alterations will occur until block 3,543,405 is reached, but the market is already factoring in the transition to a faster network approximately two weeks prior to the first 25-second block.

If you’re reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.