Zcash’s NU7 network upgrade is scheduled to activate around November 5–6, 2026, at block height 3,543,405, after which roughly $16 million in ZEC remaining in the legacy Sprout pool would become unspendable. NU7 will disable version-4 transactions, the only transaction format that can access Sprout funds. Holders would continue to own the coins, but could not move them unless a future recovery upgrade is introduced. Sprout, Zcash’s first shielded pool, launched in 2016. An earlier snapshot recorded about 12,226 ZEC in the pool, down from roughly 22,263 a week earlier, while prior chain data had implied activation around 9:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on a Thursday.