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Zcash activates NU7, targeting faster private payments

Zcash activated NU7 at block 3,543,405, targeting 25-second blocks and lighter wallet syncing while redirecting most transaction fees to future rewards.

Uruguay Can Editorial

Zcash activates NU7, targeting faster private payments

Before NU7, Zcash targeted a block every 75 seconds; the network has now activated the upgrade, cutting that target to 25 seconds and aiming to speed up private-payment confirmations. According to CoinDesk’s report on the activation, NU7 went live at block 3,543,405 at 02:34 UTC on Nov. 6. The Zcash network’s upgrade specification describes the shorter block spacing and new limits on shielded transactions.

How much faster should Zcash payments confirm?

The target time for a block, and therefore the average wait for a first confirmation, has fallen from 75 seconds to 25. By 04:59 UTC on activation day, the next 225 blocks had averaged about 39 seconds apart, CoinDesk reported, as mining difficulty adjusted to the new target. That early average was still above 25 seconds, so the target does not mean every payment confirms on schedule.

More frequent blocks can shorten the wait for a payment to appear in the chain, but the time before you can use received ZEC still depends on the wallet, exchange or merchant and how many confirmations it requires. A service that waits for multiple blocks may see a shorter wait too, though its own policy determines when it credits or accepts a payment.

What changed for shielded transactions and wallet syncing?

NU7 sets limits on shielded activity in each block, bounding how much data wallets may need to scan. The NU7 deployment specification says faster blocks reduce confirmation latency, while those limits bound the extra validation and sync costs from producing blocks more often. CoinDesk reports the limits lower the worst-case daily download burden from 271 megabytes to 169; the specification estimates capacity for simple private payments could rise from about three to more than six per second.

Where do transaction fees go under NU7?

Miners keep 40% of transaction fees; the remaining 60% is removed from circulation and recorded in a reserve for future block rewards. Reissuance is scheduled to start at block 8,939,664, around 2031, according to the specification. NU7 also makes version 4 transactions invalid, leaving any ZEC still in the original Sprout privacy pool unspendable; CoinDesk reported about 12,224 ZEC remained at activation.

Sources