Zcash price after NU7: Faster blocks and a new fee reserve
Published on 11/07/2026 at 13:00 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSNU7 reshapes Zcash economics
- NU7 activated at block 3,543,405 on November 6, 2026, introducing 25-second target block intervals.
- The Network Sustainability Mechanism removes 60% of transaction fees from circulation for future reissuance.
- Investing.com showed Zcash at 1,320.77 US dollars on November 7, with a displayed market capitalization of 22.37 billion US dollars.
- Version 4 transactions are no longer accepted, leaving about 12,224 ZEC in the legacy Sprout pool unspendable under the current rules.
The Zcash price is in focus after the network activated its NU7 upgrade. NU7 reached mainnet block 3,543,405 on November 6, 2026, according to The Block. The upgrade changes the network's operating rhythm and its approach to transaction-fee funding.
Faster blocks, unchanged cap
NU7 reduces the target interval between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Block subsidies are reduced by the same factor, while the number of blocks between halvings is tripled. The intended result is a faster block cadence without changing the existing 21 million ZEC supply cap or the overall issuance schedule.
The upgrade also activates the Network Sustainability Mechanism. Under the new rules, 60% of each block's transaction fees is removed from circulation and placed in a public reserve, while miners receive the remaining 40%. Reissuance is scheduled to begin at block 8,939,664 and is expected in 2031. This separates the immediate fee-recycling effect from any later contribution to mining rewards.
Legacy Sprout funds face a restriction
NU7 disallows version 4 transactions. Because the original Sprout shielded pool relies on that format, approximately 12,224 ZEC remaining there cannot be spent under the current network rules. The balance has not been destroyed, but restoring access would require a future protocol change. The Block also reported that node operators had to upgrade their software before activation to remain on the consensus chain.
Market context for investors
When the Investing.com ZEC/USD page was read on November 7, it showed a price of 1,320.77 US dollars. The same page displayed a market capitalization of 22.37 billion US dollars, 24-hour volume of 1.45 billion US dollars and a market ranking of 9. These are source-specific snapshot figures; the page did not provide a verified UTC closing basis for a daily comparison in this report.
The protocol changes create a mixed investment context. Faster target blocks may improve confirmation times, while fee recycling is intended to support long-term network security as ordinary block rewards decline. At the same time, the treatment of Sprout funds highlights the operational importance of wallet and protocol compatibility. Zcash describes the project as encrypted electronic cash built around zero-knowledge encryption on its official website.
Further Zcash coverage is available on the Zcash topic page.
