Key Takeaways:
- The teams behind Zcash have decided to aim for the November 5, 2026 target date for NU7 activation on the mainnet.
- NU7 will reduce the target block from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
- The upgrade will ensure that the issuance of ZEC halvings continue and incorporate the Network Sustainability Mechanism.
The developers and engineering teams come to a consensus regarding the next significant upgrade to Zcash in the NU7 package and schedule for network upgrades. The upgrade is expected to introduce quicker block production, modifications to transaction compatibility and emerging strategies that look into network sustainability.
NU7 Sets a 25-Second Block Target
According to Zcash developer Sean Bowe and the Zcash Community Forum, NU7 is scheduled to reach the official testnet on October 6, followed by a targeted mainnet activation on November 5. A final decision on the mainnet activation height is scheduled for October 20, after the ecosystem has reviewed how NU7 performs on testnet.
NU7 is coming! All of the Zcash development orgs have come to unanimous agreement about the contents and timeline of our next network upgrade, following the sentiment collection results earlier this week.
Activation approximately November 5.
Learn more:https://t.co/3pSKptV9gO
— Sean Bowe (@ebfull) September 17, 2026
The most impactful technical change is the change in block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds with the passing of ZIP-218.
That threefold reduction is proposed to reduce the transaction confirmation latency. The ZIP suggests the reduced interval will lead to a better experience for transactions that require one or two confirmations, as well as to an increase in the bandwidth of consensus.
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Faster Blocks Bring Infrastructure Changes
This isn’t just going to be a matter of the timers, the faster block schedule will be applied to the encryption of blocks. Zcash developers also have proposed the necessary changes in the network parameters to ensure similar time-based behavior post-NU7.
For example, the proposal ZIP-218 suggests increasing the proof-of-work goldrush window from 17 to 102 blocks. The number of blocks increases but the smoothing time remains close to the wall clock time wanted.
This upgrade might need a bit of help from the full nodes, indexers and block explorers too. Ordinary wallets would not see major modifications as NU7 does not work with new types of transactions, developers said.
Zcash Keeps the Halving Schedule
Furthermore, based on the newest community sentiment results, there will be some changes on Network Sustainability Mechanism for Zcash on NU7.
In this direction, the existing ZEC halving structure is maintained, and the previously stopped issuance will return in February 2031. The network upgrade will also be removing transaction version 4.
The decision was based on talks with several organizations and engineering teams within the Zcash ecosystem, such as the Zcash Foundation, Tachyon, Valar, ZODL, and Shielded Labs.
The community sentiment collection took place earlier this September. The reported results demonstrated that the 25 seconds blocks and keeping the halving schedule were supported.
NU7 Timeline Moves Into Testing
The features are planned to be implemented and available on the testnet by September 30, which is the deadline for this release.
The next one is on October 6, with the official Zcash testnet that will activate NU7. The developers will then gain experience on the testnet and then decide on the final mainnet activation on October 20.
With the current timeline, NU7 will activate on the Zcash mainnet on November 5, 2026.
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