Zcash price watched as NU7 upgrade nears mainnet activation
Published on 10/31/2026 at 13:01 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSNU7 moves into final preparations
- Zcash developers set NU7 to activate at mainnet block 3,543,405, expected around November 5.
- The upgrade targets 25-second blocks instead of 75 seconds and keeps daily ZEC issuance unchanged.
- Investing.com displayed ZEC at 1,363.06 US dollars in its October 30 snapshot, with a reported daily gain of 6.89 percent.
- Node operators must upgrade to compatible software before activation, while legacy Sprout funds face a migration deadline.
The Zcash price is in focus ahead of Network Upgrade 7 (NU7), which is planned to activate when the mainnet reaches block 3,543,405. The height is expected around November 5, but the block number, rather than a fixed calendar time, is the activation trigger.
Investing.com displayed ZEC at 1,363.06 US dollars in the page snapshot read for this report. The ad-hoc-news topic page dates the cited snapshot to October 30 and reports a 6.89 percent increase. The relevant comparison is therefore the previous UTC daily close on October 29; the displayed percentage should not be confused with a rolling 24-hour move.
What NU7 changes
According to the Zcash Foundation, NU7 reduces the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds under ZIP 218. That should shorten confirmation waits at the target cadence, although individual blocks can still arrive irregularly. The foundation also says the amount of ZEC issued per day remains unchanged because the reward per block is adjusted to match the faster schedule.
The upgrade changes the treatment of transaction fees. Under the Network Sustainability Mechanism, 60 percent of each block's transaction fees is placed in a reserve, while miners retain 40 percent immediately. The reserve is intended to be reissued as future block subsidies from block 8,939,664, with the reissuance path beginning around February 2031.
Operational deadlines for the network
Zebra 7.0.0 is the first stable release with NU7 mainnet support. The Zcash Foundation says mainnet node operators must upgrade before block 3,543,405 to remain on the consensus chain. After activation, older nodes may follow different chain rules. Exchanges, indexers and other infrastructure providers therefore face a preparation task even though ordinary wallet users are not expected to receive a new transaction format.
NU7 also disables version 4 transactions. Because legacy Sprout transfers use that format, funds remaining in the Sprout pool at activation become unspendable, according to the foundation's release notice. Holders of such funds need to migrate them to supported address types before the activation height.
How investors can read the move
The protocol upgrade provides a concrete near-term event, but its market impact remains uncertain. Earlier reporting by TECHi described an initial rally after the activation height was fixed, followed by an unwind. That history cautions against treating the latest displayed gain as proof that the upgrade alone caused the move. Key checkpoints are the approach to block 3,543,405, the readiness of node operators and the handling of Sprout balances.
More Zcash coverage is available on the Zcash topic page.
