Zcash NU7 Vote: Five Key Decisions Ahead of September 14 Deadline

Zcash Coinholders and Advisory Panel Weigh Five Critical NU7 Decisions as Monday Deadline Approaches

Zcash's Network Upgrade 7 (NU7) coinholder and advisory panel polls are set to close on Monday, September 14, at 19:00 UTC, determining the scope of the protocol's next major upgrade. The five binding questions cover issuance smoothing, fee reissuance timing, Sprout pool deprecation, a block time reduction from 75 to 25 seconds, and how to handle features that miss the September 30 development deadline—with the total ZEC supply unaffected regardless of the outcome.

Zcash is approaching a pivotal moment in its governance history as two concurrent voting processes—a shielded coinholder vote and a Zcash Community Advisory Panel (ZCAP) poll—near their Monday, September 14, 19:00 UTC deadline. The votes, which opened on August 25, will determine the scope of Network Upgrade 7 (NU7), the protocol's next major iteration. The NU7 coinholder vote represents a significant technical milestone, employing homomorphic encryption and Private Information Retrieval (PIR) cryptography to keep voter identities and balances private throughout the process—a first for production cryptocurrency governance. To be eligible, only holders of shielded, spendable ZEC in the Ironwood pool may participate, with eligibility determined at mainnet block height 3,459,350. The ZCAP poll, running concurrently, is designed to resolve outstanding scope questions for NU7 and is advisory in nature. Results will only be considered legitimate if at least 1,000,000 ZEC participates in the coinholder process.

Monetary Policy and Issuance Reform

The first question asks coinholders to decide whether Zcash should replace its traditional four-year halving cycle with a smoother issuance curve under the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The NSM component that removes ZEC from circulation is already approved; the unresolved question is how that ZEC is recycled into future block rewards. Voters can choose between a smooth issuance curve that replaces halvings with a gradual issuance schedule, preserving the existing halving schedule while recycling removed ZEC into future rewards, or excluding issuance smoothing from NU7 altogether and leaving the matter to future governance. Crucially, the total supply of ZEC will not be affected regardless of which option prevails, meaning the monetary base remains unchanged even as the distribution curve shifts.

The second question addresses the timing of NSM reissuance, which includes at least 60% of total fees. Options range from implementing reissuance as soon as possible, which would mean February 2027 if smoothed issuance is chosen or potentially sooner otherwise, to fixed dates of February 2027 or February 2031 regardless of the Q1 outcome. The choice effectively determines how quickly the network's fee recycling mechanism begins redistributing funds back into block rewards, with the sooner option accelerating the return of fee revenue into the issuance stream.

Deprecating Legacy Infrastructure and Accelerating Transactions

The third question concerns the Sprout pool, Zcash's original shielded transaction format that was deprecated in 2018. Deposits are disabled, the pool holds less than 23,000 ZEC, and it accounts for under 0.1% of transaction volume. Disabling v4 transactions is broadly accepted; only the timing remains open. Voters can choose to disable v4 transactions immediately at NU7 activation, one year after the poll concludes, or set no date at all. The deprecation of Sprout represents a housekeeping measure that cleans up legacy infrastructure, though the small remaining balance suggests the immediate impact on users would be minimal regardless of the timing chosen.

The fourth question proposes a significant technical change: reducing Zcash's block target spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, as specified in ZIP 218. This would reduce the expected wait for a first confirmation to 25 seconds on average, roughly tripling transaction speed. Testnet results have recorded an orphan block rate of approximately 3.43%, with expectations that mainnet performance could be even better. The change would also introduce per-pool action limits for the Sapling and Orchard shielded protocols, adding additional governance parameters for the network's privacy features. The faster block times would bring Zcash closer to the transaction speeds of more modern payment networks while maintaining its privacy-first architecture.

Scope, Readiness, and the September 30 Deadline

The fifth question addresses a practical governance challenge: how to handle NU7 features that are not ready by the September 30 development deadline. Voters must choose between shipping NU7 as soon as possible while removing any feature not implemented by the deadline, or delaying the entire upgrade until every approved feature is deemed complete. This question effectively determines whether NU7 proceeds on a fixed timeline or waits for full feature completion, with the former prioritizing timely delivery and the latter prioritizing complete scope. The decision will have implications for the upgrade's timing and the perception of Zcash's development velocity.

The ZCAP poll, which runs concurrently with the coinholder vote, gives the advisory panel a formal voice in settling these same scope questions. The panel's vote is advisory, while the coinholder vote carries binding weight. The outcome of both processes will determine the final shape of NU7, with the Zcash Foundation noting that the upgrade will be consistent with the results of this poll. The next halving on the current schedule remains roughly two years away, giving the community time to implement the chosen direction regardless of Monday's outcome. With both polls closing simultaneously at 19:00 UTC on September 14, the Zcash community is set to deliver a clear signal on the network's technical and economic trajectory for years to come. The results will likely be published shortly after the polls close, and the development team will then proceed with implementation based on the community's direction, with the upgrade expected to roll out in the following months depending on the scope and timing decisions made through this governance process.

Oleg Dimitrov publication: "Zcash NU7 Vote: Five Key Decisions Ahead of September 14 Deadline" was written for 24crypto.news

---

News from today

---

Related news

Ethereum Sets 2029 Quantum-Resistance Deadline Ahead of Hegotá Upgrade

OKX Sees Surge in European Users Ahead of MiCA Deadline, Launches €10M 8% Deposit Bonus

MoneyGram Joins Circle’s Arc as Validator Ahead of September 16 Mainnet Launch

Zcash (ZEC) Price Analysis: Weekly Bearish Setup Signals Major Downside Ahead

More news with author: Oleg Dimitrov