Zcash Activates NU7 Upgrade as ZEC Trades Between $1,250 and $1,300
Zcash activated its NU7 network upgrade at block 3,543,405 on November 6, cutting the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. ZEC traded near $1,250 afterward, down about 6% in 24 hours, though one source placed it near $1,290 the previous day amid $14.77 million in weekly outflows from a Grayscale ETF.
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Activation and Core Changes
Zcash activated its NU7 network upgrade at block 3,543,405 on November 6, at approximately 02:34 UTC, according to the network's activation record cited by Crypto.news. The upgrade reduces the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and adds new limits on private transactions. It also reserves part of transaction fees for future mining rewards.
Developers confirmed the activation height in October, giving node operators time to install compatible software. Crypto.news reported that seven Zebra security fixes were included in the release, and operators were instructed to upgrade to stay compatible with the new consensus rules.
Block Timing and Throughput
The faster target interval is designed to process more transactions over the same period. Crypto.news estimates Orchard transaction capacity rises from roughly 2.9 to 6.6 transactions per second. Blocks did not reach the new target immediately. During the first hours after activation, observed intervals averaged around 39 seconds while mining difficulty adjusted.
The practical effect on payment confirmation times depends on network conditions and on how many confirmations a wallet, merchant or exchange requires. The per-block reward was reduced to keep the daily ZEC issuance schedule intact, so the faster block rate does not triple new supply.
Fee Split and Supply
Under the new fee mechanism, miners receive 40% of transaction fees, while the remaining 60% enters a Network Sustainability Mechanism. Those reserved funds are scheduled to support future mining rewards beginning around February 2031. The mechanism does not permanently burn fees, and the 21 million ZEC maximum supply is unchanged.
Privacy Pool Retirement
NU7 disables version 4 transactions, which makes funds still held in Sprout, Zcash's original privacy pool, unspendable under current rules. Approximately 12,224 ZEC remain in that pool, about $15.3 million at the reported price. Co-founder Sean Bowe has discussed a possible future recovery mechanism, but Crypto.news reports that no such change has been approved.
The upgrade also lowers the worst-case daily download requirement for wallets scanning the chain, which developers estimate falls from 271 megabytes to 169 megabytes.
Price Action and Market Context
The two sources differ on where ZEC was trading. Crypto.news reported ZEC near $1,250 after a decline of almost 6% over 24 hours, with a 24-hour range of $1,217.35 to $1,330.22 and volume of $1.33 billion. CoinJournal, writing on Friday before activation, put the token around $1,290 as it held near $1,300 during a broader selloff that triggered more than $1 billion in derivatives liquidations. The sources reflect different points in the same sequence rather than a contradiction in the data, and neither figure is an exact close.
On the derivatives side, CoinJournal reported Zcash futures open interest rose to 2.15 million ZEC. Grayscale's ZEC-focused ETF, ticker ZCSH, recorded $10.99 million in net outflows on Thursday, according to SoSoValue data cited by CoinJournal, bringing cumulative weekly outflows to $14.77 million. Crypto.news reported a flat seven-day performance of down 0.78% and a one-month decline of about 4.94%.
Technical readings from both sources point to consolidation. CoinJournal identified $1,340, the October 8 high, as resistance, with the September 26 peak at $1,698 as a further target and the October 8 low near $1,112 as the lower bound of the range. It cited the 50-day EMA near $1,216, the 200-day EMA near $856, a daily RSI around 53 and a MACD above its signal line. Crypto.news placed Bollinger Band support at $1,235.20 and immediate resistance at $1,343.58. Those levels are technical reference points, not forecasts.
Why It Matters
For Traders
ZEC has been consolidating between roughly $1,217 and $1,340, so a daily close above $1,340 or a loss of the $1,112 October low would be the levels to watch in the coming days.
For Investors
Continued outflows from the Grayscale ZCSH fund alongside a supply-neutral upgrade suggest institutional demand has not yet followed the protocol changes.
For Builders
Wallets and integrators should retest against 25-second targets and the 39-second observed early intervals, and check any Sprout-dependent flows since those funds are now unspendable.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
