Zcash developers are targeting Nov. 5, 2026, for NU7 mainnet activation after the Zcash Foundation, Project Tachyon, Valar Group, ZODL, Shielded Labs and relevant engineering teams agreed on the upgrade’s scope and timetable. Testnet activation is planned for Oct. 6, followed by an Oct. 20 decision on whether conditions support mainnet deployment and which activation height to use. NU7 would reduce target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, disable version 4 transactions that allow spending from the legacy Sprout pool and implement a Network Sustainability Mechanism configuration that preserves halvings and schedules reissuance of removed ZEC for February 2031. Coinholders backed preserving halvings with 98.9% support, while 99.9% of ZEC-weighted voters supported the faster-block proposal. The package remains subject to technical review, and ZEC rose about 20% in 24 hours amid a broader privacy-coin rally. Glassnode data showed the sector 213% above its level at Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak, compared with an 85% gain for a basket excluding ZEC.