Key Notes
- NU7 activated at block 3,543,405, reducing the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Around 12,224 ZEC remain unspendable in Sprout after version 4 transactions were disabled.
- Miners receive 40% of transaction fees while 60% enters the NSM for future mining rewards.
Zcash activated its NU7 network upgrade on November 6, reducing the target interval between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and ending spending from its oldest privacy pool, Sprout.
The activation tracker records block 3,543,405 at 02:34 UTC. The launch completes the transition described in CoinScreamer’s earlier NU7 preview, which warned holders to move legacy funds before the cutoff.
A Faster Target, With Mining Still Adjusting
The new interval is a mining target, rather than a guarantee that every block arrives within 25 seconds. Individual intervals vary, and the network’s difficulty must adjust to the changed schedule.
By 04:59 UTC, Zcash had produced 225 additional blocks at an average interval of about 39 seconds, CoinDesk reported, citing ZecStats. That early measurement describes the adjustment period, rather than an established long-term average.
At the new target, three confirmations would take about 75 seconds on average, compared with 225 seconds previously. A wallet, merchant or exchange can still require a different confirmation count before making funds available. Faster blocks do not mean instant or irreversible settlement.
More Shielded Capacity With Less Wallet Data
The scaling specification combines more frequent blocks with limits on shielded activity. For standard two-action transactions using the Orchard protocol, it estimates capacity rises from about 2.9 to 6.6 transactions per second.
That is a protocol-capacity estimate under stated assumptions, not a measurement of payments currently being processed. Orchard and Ironwood use this transaction design, while the upgrade also sets separate limits for Sapling.
Those limits reduce the maximum daily wallet-scanning download burden from 271 megabytes to 169 megabytes, a decrease of about 37%. The figures describe a worst-case spam scenario, rather than the amount every wallet normally downloads.
Sprout Funds Become Unspendable
About 12,224 ZEC remain in Sprout, according to the activation tracker. At the $1,250 reference price used in the morning report, that balance was worth roughly $15.3 million.
NU7 makes version 4 transactions invalid. Because newer transaction formats cannot represent Sprout transfers, holders can no longer spend those balances even with their private keys. The restriction also affects other software still constructing version 4 transactions.
The Sprout rules do not burn or confiscate these coins. Future access would require another consensus change, and the specification warns that spending may never be restored.
Fees Support Future Mining Rewards
Under the fee rules, miners receive 40% of transaction fees. The remaining 60% leaves circulation through the Network Sustainability Mechanism, or NSM, for later reissuance through mining rewards.
That process begins at block 8,939,664, expected around February 2031, rather than immediately. The issuance mechanism recycles previously withheld value instead of permanently destroying it.
The Zcash Foundation says per-block subsidies are divided by three to offset the faster target. Daily scheduled issuance, the four-year halving cycle and the 21 million ZEC ceiling remain unchanged.
This fee allocation is separate from the withdrawn grants proposal involving Zcash Community Grants. NU7’s activation does not revive that abandoned funding plan.
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