Zcash NU7 Upgrade on 5 November 2026: 25-Second Blocks, Sprout Shutdown, and What ZEC Holders Should Do
Updated: Oct 30, 2026
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Quick answer
NU7 is the seventh network upgrade of Zcash. Developers have set mainnet activation at block 3,543,405, which the current block pace puts at around 5 November 2026. The upgrade cuts the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, disables version 4 transactions (the only format that can spend from the legacy Sprout pool), removes 60% of each block’s transaction fees from circulation for later reissuance to miners, and adds limits on shielded operations. If you hold ZEC in an up-to-date wallet, you do not need to do anything. If you still have ZEC in a Sprout address, move it before activation. If you run a node, mining pool, or exchange wallet, upgrade to software that supports NU7 (Zebra 7.0.0).
Key facts
- Activation height: 3,543,405 on mainnet. Core developer Sean Bowe proposed the height on 20 October 2026 after it was agreed at a ZIP editors’ meeting. The date is an estimate of when that block arrives, not a scheduled time.
- Block time: 75 seconds today, 25 seconds after NU7 (ZIP 218). Zcash last changed this parameter in December 2019, when the Blossom upgrade went from 150 to 75 seconds.
- Sprout shutdown: version 4 transactions become invalid. Sprout notes can only be spent through version 4, so coins still in Sprout at activation become unspendable. Around 22,000 ZEC remained in Sprout in mid-October 2026.
- Fees: 60% of each block’s transaction fees are removed from circulation and are planned to be returned to miners starting around February 2031.
- Issuance: per-block rewards are adjusted to the faster block cadence so that the halving schedule stays as planned.
- Node software: Zebra 7.0.0 carries NU7 support. zcashd reached end of support at block 3,417,100 on 18 July 2026 and does not support NU6.3 or NU7. Node operators must use an NU7-compatible implementation; Zebra 7.0.0 is the Zcash Foundation release that carries the NU7 mainnet activation height.
- Governance: the block-time reduction was put to a shielded coin-weighted vote. According to crypto.news, roughly 99.9% of participating ZEC supported the change, with close to 2.4 million ZEC taking part.
What NU7 changes
| Parameter | Before NU7 | After NU7 |
| Target block interval | 75 seconds | 25 seconds |
| Time for 3 confirmations | about 3 minutes 45 seconds | about 75 seconds |
| Version 4 transactions | valid | invalid |
| Sprout pool | spendable (v4 only) | frozen |
| Transaction fees | paid to miners | 60% removed from circulation, reissued to miners from about February 2031 |
| Shielded operations | no per-block limit | limits per pool and network-wide |
| Halving schedule | next halving projected for late 2028 | unchanged in calendar terms; block-height references will be republished |
The headline change is speed. A block every 25 seconds means that a deposit which needs three confirmations reaches that count in roughly one-third of the time it takes at a 75-second target interval. Exchanges and swap services set their own confirmation requirements, so the exact waiting time on any platform depends on that platform’s settings.
Why Sprout is being shut down
Sprout is the original shielded pool that launched with Zcash in October 2016. It has been superseded three times: by Sapling (October 2018), Orchard (May 2022), and Ironwood (28 July 2026). Sprout proofs are slow to generate; they rely on the original trusted setup, and Sprout was the pool affected by the counterfeiting vulnerability that Zcash disclosed in February 2019. Keeping the pool alive means every node must keep validating a 2016-era circuit.
NU7 does not delete Sprout history. It stops new spends by making version 4 transactions invalid. Anyone who still holds Sprout notes has to move them to a newer pool before the activation block, after which the network treats those coins as unspendable.
What to do, by role
You hold ZEC in an up-to-date wallet that supports the pool your funds are in. Update the app when prompted. Funds in transparent, Sapling, Orchard, or Ironwood pools are not frozen by the Sprout shutdown, although old software that can create only version 4 transactions will stop being able to send after NU7. Existing address formats are not changed by NU7.
You have ZEC in a Sprout address. Restore the wallet in software that can still build version 4 transactions and send the balance to a shielded or transparent address you control. Do this before block 3,543,405. If you are unsure which pool your old coins sit in, the wallet’s receive screen or balance breakdown usually names the pool.
You run a node, mining pool, or exchange infrastructure. Install Zebra 7.0.0 or later before the activation height. Review confirmation policies: with 25-second blocks, a fixed number of confirmations represents a shorter time window, so some operators may raise the confirmation count for large deposits.
You build wallets. Transaction version 4 support can be removed. Check that fee estimation handles the new fee treatment and that shielded action limits are respected.
What NU7 means for swaps
Crypto-to-crypto swaps that involve ZEC depend on two networks: the one you send from and the one you receive on. NU7 shortens the Zcash side of that wait. A service that requires a handful of Zcash confirmations will see deposits confirm in about a minute rather than several minutes.
On SimpleSwap, ZEC can be exchanged wallet-to-wallet without an account for most crypto-to-crypto swaps. The service fee is built into the quoted rate; details are available on the website. Network fees go to the blockchain. KYC may be required for transaction security and compliance, and availability is subject to the Terms of Service and jurisdictional restrictions. The only official domain is simpleswap.io.
Rick Cramer, Head of Analytics at SimpleSwap, put it this way in the CryptoSlate guide on self-custody: “Boring is the highest compliment you can pay infrastructure. Boring means it worked.” For holders, a well-executed network upgrade should feel exactly like that.
FAQ
When does Zcash NU7 activate?
Do I need to move my ZEC before NU7?
Will my Zcash address change?
Does NU7 change the Zcash halving?
Is NU7 a hard fork?
What happens to the 60% of fees that are removed?
How we checked
Sources
- crypto.news: Zcash developers select November 5 target for NU7 upgrade
- Altcoin Buzz: Zcash Developers Agree NU7 Height, Cutting Block Time to 25s
- Bitbase: Zcash Developers Set November 5 Target for NU7 Upgrade
- KuCoin News: NU7 activation insight
- Zcash documentation: zcashd end-of-life
- Zcash Ironwood specification
- Ledger: Native Shielded Zcash Support (NU7 vote via shielded addresses)
- CryptoSlate: Self-custody in 2026 (source of the quote)
Related reading
The information in this article is not a piece of financial advice or any other advice of any kind. The reader should be aware of the risks involved in trading cryptocurrencies and make their own informed decisions. SimpleSwap is not responsible for any losses incurred due to such risks. For details, please see our Terms of Service.
