Zcash NU7 targets November 5: What it means for the Zcash price

Published on 10/19/2026 at 09:17 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

NU7 would cut block times from 75 to 25 seconds. The Zcash price is 1,133.12 USD as of October 16, 2026, down 3.98 percent.

Network upgrade and market data

Developers scheduled NU7 for mainnet activation on November 5, 2026, with faster blocks and revised fee handling.
An encrypted vote counted 2.4 million ZEC and recorded 99.9 percent support for 25-second blocks.
The Zcash price stands at 1,133.12 USD as of October 16, 2026, 3.98 percent below the UTC daily close of October 15, 2026.
The upgrade testnet reached block 4,465,026 on October 4, 2026.

Zcash, XCCRYPTOZEC1, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Zcash (ZEC) is set for the NU7 mainnet activation targeted for November 5, 2026, with blocks scheduled to arrive every 25 seconds instead of 75. According to Blockworks, the protocol upgrade is the next step in the network's scaling roadmap and follows a testnet activation on October 4, 2026.

NU7 schedules 25-second blocks for November 5

NU7 refers to the next Zcash network upgrade. A blockchain upgrade changes the software rules used by nodes, wallets and other network infrastructure. Blockworks reported on October 14, 2026, that NU7 is designed to reduce the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Under the planned change, the per-block subsidy is divided by an additional factor of three, keeping total issuance per unit of time on the same path.

The same report said the upgrade will retire version 4 transactions, which are associated with the legacy Sprout shielded pool. Shielded transactions are designed to conceal payment details from public blockchain observers. The change means users and infrastructure providers connected to older transaction formats need to prepare before the November 5, 2026, target.

Encrypted vote records 99.9 percent support

Blockworks reported that nearly 2.4 million ZEC participated in an encrypted poll on NU7. The vote recorded 99.9 percent support for 25-second blocks, while the existing halving schedule remained in place. The report also described the Network Sustainability Mechanism, which is planned to remove 60 percent of transaction fees from circulation and reissue them through block rewards starting in February 2031.

A separate October 14, 2026, report from ZecHub said users with ZEC in the legacy Sprout pool are being urged to migrate before NU7 activates. The report also said two lightwalletd vulnerabilities generated 28,100 USD in security rewards. Lightwalletd is a backend service that supplies blockchain data to lightweight wallets.

Zcash price shows 3.98 percent daily decline

The Zcash price stands at 1,133.12 USD as of October 16, 2026, down 3.98 percent compared with the UTC daily close of October 15, 2026. According to Investing.com, the daily high is 1,156.00 USD and the daily low is 1,120.48 USD. The cryptocurrency has a market capitalization of 19.26 billion USD and ranks 10th, while 24-hour volume is 781.38 million USD. Circulating supply is 16.92 million ZEC.