Zcash Holders Back 25-Second Blocks in NU7 Vote

The private poll was conducted using only spendable ZEC held in the Ironwood shielded pool at the Aug. 24 snapshot, recorded at mainnet block 3,459,350; eligible coins could be moved after the snapshot without changing voting eligibility.
NU7’s faster-block proposal would reduce the per-block subsidy by an additional factor of three—estimated at 0.26041666 ZEC per block under the current reward level—so producing three times as many blocks would not triple daily issuance.
The poll’s encrypted ballots were divided into 16 parts before counting, allowing validators to determine the results without learning voters’ identities or the amounts of ZEC they controlled.
Voters supported postponing reissuance of fees collected through the Network Sustainability Mechanism until February 2031 and favored launching NU7 as soon as possible while dropping features not ready by Sept. 30.
The proposals also touch Zcash’s legacy Sprout shielded pool: about 4.89 million ZEC—roughly 28.9% of circulating supply—was held in shielded pools, and shielded transactions accounted for 59.3% of recent network activity.
Zcash holders overwhelmingly approved Network Upgrade 7 proposals in a private stake-weighted vote, backing plans to cut the target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and preserve the network's Bitcoin-style halving schedule. Nearly 2.4 million ZEC—roughly two-thirds of eligible holdings—participated in the poll, with approximately 99% supporting each major measure Crypto Briefing. The faster block interval aims to reduce confirmation waits and boost shielded-payment capacity while keeping the 21 million-coin supply cap intact.
Zcash surged 18% in 24 hours and 193% over the past month following the governance vote and Grayscale inflows, pushing the cryptocurrency past $1,500 and raising its market cap above $23 billion Crypto Briefing. The vote result reinforced confidence in Zcash's long-term framework, though developers must still implement, test, and activate the changes before mainnet rules change.
NU7 cuts block time to a quarter of the current 75-second target, but the per-block subsidy shrinks by three times to compensate. The new reward would drop to an estimated 0.26041666 ZEC per block under current levels. This means three times as many blocks arrive without tripling daily coin issuance or disrupting the halving schedule Crypto Briefing.
The vote used encrypted ballots split into 16 parts before counting, letting validators confirm results without revealing individual votes or ZEC holdings. Only coins held in Zcash's Ironwood shielded pool at the August 24 snapshot—mainnet block 3,459,350—were eligible. Voters could move funds after the snapshot without losing their voting rights Crypto Briefing.
Shielded pools hold roughly 4.89 million ZEC—about 28.9% of total circulating supply. Recent activity shows shielded transactions account for 59.3% of all network transactions Crypto Briefing. The NU7 upgrade is expected to enhance shielded-payment speed and usability, making privacy features more practical for daily users.
Voters favored postponing reissuances of fees collected through the Network Sustainability Mechanism until February 2031 Crypto Economy. The poll also showed strong support for launching NU7 as soon as practical, while dropping any features not ready by September 30. The community vote is advisory only—developers retain final authority over activation timing and implementation details.
Publishers
27
Articles
16
Reach
43