TLDR
- Nearly 2.4 million ZEC participated in the NU7 governance vote, representing about two-thirds of eligible ZEC.
- About 99.9% of voting ZEC supported cutting Zcash block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Roughly 98.9% backed keeping Zcash’s existing Bitcoin-style halving schedule.
- Zcash holders voted 96.6% to delay reissuing ZEC collected through the Network Sustainability Mechanism until February 2031.
- About 99.3% supported launching NU7 as soon as possible, while removing features that miss the September 30 readiness deadline.
Zcash holders backed faster transactions and the halving schedule in a governance vote tied to the NU7 upgrade. Nearly 2.4 million ZEC took part, out of about 3.6 million ZEC eligible at the voting snapshot. Each eligible ZEC counted as one vote, while the system kept balances private.
Zcash Holders Back Faster Block Times
About 99.9% of participating ZEC supported cutting block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Shorter block times can reduce the wait for transaction confirmations and support faster private payments across the Zcash network. Organizers required at least 1 million ZEC in turnout before treating the result as representative. The vote passed that threshold, with roughly two-thirds of eligible ZEC taking part.
Around 98.9% of voting ZEC supported keeping Zcash’s bitcoin-style halving model. Under this system, miner rewards from newly issued ZEC fall by half at set intervals instead of declining through a smoother issuance curve.
Zcash holders also voted 96.6% to delay any reissuance of ZEC gathered through the Network Sustainability Mechanism until February 2031. The system removes funds from circulation, including at least 60% of transaction fees, before later returning ZEC through block rewards.
Private Voting Protects Balances
Only holders who kept ZEC in the Ironwood shielded pool could participate. The network verified voting power without revealing wallet balances, identities, or transaction details linked to each ballot.
The voting system encrypted each ballot and divided it into 16 parts before counting. Validators could calculate the final totals without learning how much ZEC any voter controlled or which choice that voter supported.
The stronger turnout also marked a sharp increase from February’s NU7 sentiment poll, which drew participation equal to 7.25% of circulating ZEC and exposed disagreements between Zcash holders and ZCAP panel members.
About 99.3% of voting ZEC supported releasing NU7 as soon as possible. The plan allows developers to drop any feature that misses the Sept. 30 readiness deadline instead of delaying the full upgrade.
The vote does not change Zcash by itself. Developers must still build, test, and add the approved features before activation. Faster block times also follow recent work on private payments, including mobile proof-generation tests below 200 milliseconds and projects aimed at raising transaction capacity.
