Zcash price in focus as NU7 upgrade nears November activation
Published on 11/03/2026 at 07:02 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSNU7 Sets Zcash Upgrades in Focus
- Zcash NU7 is expected to activate at block 3,543,405 around November 5, 2026.
- The upgrade targets 25-second blocks, disables legacy version 4 transactions and leaves daily ZEC issuance unchanged.
- ZEC traded at 1,126.89 US dollars at 06:01:10 UTC on November 3, with a market capitalization of 18,574,730,544 US dollars.
The Zcash price is being watched ahead of Network Upgrade 7, or NU7, which is expected to activate when the mainnet reaches block 3,543,405. Coinranking reported on October 28 that developers expected the block height around November 5, 2026, while noting that the block height - rather than a fixed clock time - determines activation.
At 06:01:10 UTC on November 3, ZEC traded at 1,126.89 US dollars, according to Perplexity Finance. The quoted market capitalization was 18,574,730,544 US dollars. The quote showed a change of minus 6.65 US dollars, or minus 0.59 percent, but the available data does not establish a UTC daily closing comparison for November 2. The market therefore remains highly sensitive to the upgrade timetable without a verified daily performance figure being attached here.
What NU7 Changes for Zcash
According to Coinranking, NU7 reduces the target interval between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds under ZIP 218. That is designed to shorten the waiting time for an initial confirmation and could matter for payments, exchange deposits and cross-chain operations. The report also says daily ZEC issuance remains unchanged because the subsidy per block is adjusted to account for the faster block cadence.
The upgrade also disables legacy version 4 transactions. That ends further spending from the older Sprout pool at activation, while node operators need compatible software to follow the new consensus rules. Coinranking reported that the Zcash Foundation had released Zebra 7.0.0 with support for NU7.
Funding Debate Adds Governance Risk
Technical execution is not the only issue for investors. 24/7 Wall St. reported that Josh Swihart proposed ending the development fund before its scheduled November 2028 expiration. A separate proposal would redirect the 8 percent share allocated to Zcash Community Grants to the Network Sustainability Mechanism.
Both proposals were still under discussion when the report was published, and no code changes had been made. The article noted that redirecting the allocation to miners would not necessarily reduce selling pressure, while temporarily holding part of the allocation in the sustainability mechanism could affect future supply dynamics. For the Zcash price, the key near-term variables are therefore the execution of NU7, the handling of legacy funds and the outcome of the funding debate.
More Zcash coverage is available on the Zcash topic page.
