Zcash coinholders have decisively backed proposals to accelerate the network while maintaining the current bitcoin-like halving schedule, resolving the main issues for Network Upgrade 7 (NU7), the next major update planned for the privacy-focused blockchain.
Strong turnout and clear decisions
Approximately 2.4 million ZEC participated in the vote, representing about two-thirds of the 3.6 million eligible coins at the snapshot. This turnout far exceeded the minimum threshold of 1 million ZEC set by organizers to consider the vote representative of the community’s will.
The overwhelming participation marks a significant increase compared to the sentiment poll held in February, which saw turnout at just 7.25% of the circulating supply. Eligible voters for this latest round needed to hold their ZEC in Ironwood, Zcash’s latest shielded pool, enhancing voter privacy.
To ensure security and confidentiality, ballots were encrypted and separated into sixteen components, allowing validators to tally votes without linking them to voter identities or individual holdings.
Mini dictionary: Ironwood is Zcash’s most recent shielded pool technology, designed to enhance transaction privacy and support advanced features, available since the orchard network upgrade in 2022.
Halving schedule and sustainability mechanism
By opting to keep the existing halving cycle unchanged, Zcash continues to align its monetary policy with that of bitcoin. This decision determines the future issuance rate of new ZEC and has implications for long-term supply and miner incentives.
Separately, a 96.6% majority of coinholders agreed to defer the reissuance of ZEC gathered under the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) until February 2031. The NSM currently removes at least 60% of transaction fees from circulation, planning to recycle these coins through block rewards while maintaining the fixed maximum ZEC supply. Delaying reissuance allows a larger amount of accumulated fees before any return to miners takes effect.
| Proposal | Option Selected | Voting Percentage | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halving schedule | No change (Bitcoin-style) | Overwhelming majority | N/A |
| Reissuance of NSM ZEC | Start in February 2031 | 96.6% | February 2031 |
Advisory groups connected to Zcash—including Shielded Labs, Project Tachyon, ZODL, the Zcash Foundation, and Valar Group—confirmed their alignment with the 2031 reissuance date, describing it as the most prudent interpretation of the coinholder vote.
Ballots were encrypted and split into 16 parts, enabling validators to count the result without revealing voter identities or the amounts of ZEC each participant controlled.
Next steps for Zcash
Despite these decisions, the outcome does not enact immediate network changes. Technical teams will need to implement, review, and integrate the chosen features into NU7 before deployment can take place.
Zcash is a blockchain protocol that provides privacy-preserving transactions through zero-knowledge proofs, giving users the ability to shield their transaction details from public view. NU7 represents the latest in a series of regular updates aimed at improving network capabilities, privacy, and sustainability over time.
