Zcash Holders Back Faster Blocks and Bitcoin-Style Halvings in NU7 Vote
Zcash holders have voted overwhelmingly to support faster transactions and maintain the cryptocurrency’s Bitcoin-style halving schedule, with nearly two-thirds of eligible ZEC participating in the network’s latest governance vote.
The NU7 initiative received around 2.4 million ZEC in votes out of approximately 3.6 million eligible at the snapshot. The vote was measured by the amount of ZEC rather than the number of individual participants, meaning each eligible coin represented one vote. Organizers had set a minimum turnout of 1 million ZEC for the result to be considered representative.
The largest share of support went to a proposal to reduce Zcash’s block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. About 99.9% of participating ZEC backed the change. Shorter intervals between blocks could allow transactions to receive confirmations more quickly, improving the experience for users making private payments.
Holders also voted to retain the network’s existing halving schedule, with 98.9% supporting the proposal. Zcash miners receive newly created ZEC as part of their rewards, and halvings reduce that issuance at scheduled intervals. An alternative proposal would have replaced the large, fixed reward reductions with a smoother curve that gradually lowers the number of new coins entering circulation.
Shielded Voting Protects Holder Privacy
The governance process introduced a major change in how Zcash holders participate in network decisions. Only ZEC held in Ironwood, the network’s newest private transaction pool, could be used to vote.
Shielded transactions allow the blockchain to verify that funds exist and are spent correctly without publicly revealing wallet balances or transaction details. That privacy also applies to the voting process, allowing participants to use their economic stake without exposing the size of their holdings.
Ballots were encrypted and divided into 16 separate pieces before counting. Validators could calculate the final result without reconstructing which holder voted for a particular option or how much ZEC they controlled.
The system represents a significant change from Zcash’s earlier holder polling. A February NU7 sentiment poll attracted participation equal to only 7.25% of circulating ZEC and highlighted disagreements between coin holders and the Zcash Community Advisory Panel, known as ZCAP. The new voting system was introduced during the summer to provide stronger privacy protections for shielded balances.
Holders Set 2031 Timeline for Recycled ZEC
Zcash holders also approved a delay to the reissuance of coins collected through the Network Sustainability Mechanism, or NSM. Some 96.6% voted to wait until February 2031 before those funds begin returning to circulation.
The NSM removes ZEC from circulation, including at least 60% of transaction fees, before eventually recycling the coins through future block rewards. The mechanism does not alter Zcash’s maximum supply.
By preserving the halving schedule and delaying the return of these funds, the vote keeps the existing issuance structure in place while allowing the collected fees to accumulate for several years before potentially reaching miners.
NU7 Upgrade to Move Forward Quickly
Participants also expressed strong support for advancing the wider NU7 upgrade without waiting for every proposed feature to be completed. Around 99.3% backed shipping the upgrade as soon as possible, with features not ready by the September 30 deadline to be removed from the release.
The decision follows wider efforts to improve the speed of private ZEC transactions. Earlier software work reportedly reduced mobile proof-generation times from more than three seconds to under 200 milliseconds in some tests. Additional projects, including Zakura and Project Tachyon, are focused on increasing private-transaction throughput.
The vote gives Zcash developers a clearer direction for NU7 after months of debate over the upgrade’s scope. However, the approved changes still need to be implemented, tested and included in the final network release before they take effect.
The results show strong support for faster blocks, the current monetary policy and shielded governance. Nearly 2.4 million ZEC took part in the decisions, while the identities and balances behind those votes remained private.