Zcash developers have agreed to target November 5, 2026, for activating the NU7 upgrade on the Zcash mainnet, following unanimous agreement among ecosystem organizations and engineering teams. The upgrade is scheduled to reach the testnet (a network for pre-release testing) on October 6, after code completion expected on September 30. A final mainnet decision and activation height are scheduled for October 20. NU7 would reduce the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds through ZIP-218, requiring block subsidy adjustments so faster block production does not increase time-adjusted ZEC issuance. It would also disable version 4 transactions and add the Network Sustainability Mechanism through ZIP-234 and ZIP-235, while preserving Zcash’s halving schedule and beginning the reintroduction of previously removed issuance in February 2031. No new transaction formats are planned, so wallets are not expected to need significant changes, although full nodes, indexers and block explorers may require updates. Community voting showed support from about 99.9% of participating ZEC holders for shorter block spacing, 98.9% for preserving the halving schedule and 96.6% for a February 2031 NSM reissuance start. About 2.4 million ZEC participated, out of roughly 3.6 million eligible Ironwood balances. The schedule comes as ZEC market activity has increased, with the token trading near $1,300 on September 18 after gains of more than 17% over 24 hours and more than 170% over a month, while market data showed prices near $1,470 to $1,510 depending on the venue. The source links that activity with the NU7 voting process, Ledger’s planned Ironwood integration and growth in Grayscale’s Zcash exchange-traded product, but does not establish a single cause for the price increase.