Nearly two-thirds of the circulating ZEC supply participated in a key governance vote this week, as Zcash holders overwhelmingly approved a proposal to cut block times to 25 seconds and backed maintaining the network’s existing halving schedule.
Broad support for faster transactions and halvings
Almost 2.4 million ZEC were used to vote on the scope of NU7, the next major upgrade for Zcash, out of about 3.6 million ZEC eligible at the voting snapshot. Under Zcash’s governance model, votes are weighted by the amount of ZEC held, with each coin equal to one vote. Organizers had established a turnout threshold of 1 million ZEC to ensure sufficient representation from coinholders.
An overwhelming 99.9% of participating ZEC favored reducing the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. This measure is intended to significantly accelerate transaction confirmations for users, as each block contains bundles of transactions recorded on the blockchain.
In addition, 98.9% of voting ZEC supported preserving Zcash’s current, bitcoin-inspired halving system. Halving events periodically reduce the reward for miners by half, establishing fixed intervals for new coin issuance. The alternative option under discussion would have gradually lowered new ZEC issuance rather than applying large scheduled reductions.
Proponents emphasized that shorter block times could make private transactions notably faster, while retaining the established halving system ensures predictability for long-term participants.
Distinctive shielded voting process
The voting mechanism for this upgrade used only ZEC held within Ironwood, the newest private transaction pool on the Zcash network. In Zcash, a shielded pool employs advanced cryptography to ensure transaction details and balances remain private, while still allowing the blockchain to verify that coins exist and are spent correctly.
Submitted ballots were encrypted and divided into 16 separate parts prior to counting. This allowed validators to tally final vote results without access to information about who voted or how much ZEC each participant controlled.
By using this system, Zcash holders were able to participate in monetary policy and technical decisions using their true economic stakes while safeguarding the privacy of those holdings.
Mini dictionary: Ironwood, Zcash’s privacy-focused transaction pool, uses advanced zero-knowledge proofs to keep transaction data and user balances confidential while supporting security and auditability on the blockchain.
Further decisions and implications for NU7
Voters also endorsed a proposal by 96.6% to wait until February 2031 before reissuing ZEC collected through the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The NSM removes at least 60% of transaction fees from circulation, intending to accumulate funds for future rewards to miners, but does not alter the maximum supply of Zcash.
| Proposal | Support (%) | Implementation Status |
|---|---|---|
| Cut block time to 25 seconds | 99.9 | Approved |
| Maintain current halving schedule | 98.9 | Approved |
| Wait until 2031 to reissue NSM ZEC | 96.6 | Approved |
| Implement NU7 as soon as possible | 99.3 | Approved |
Furthermore, 99.3% of participating ZEC favored proceeding with the NU7 upgrade as soon as possible, opting to drop any features not ready by a readiness deadline of September 30, rather than delay for full implementation of every component.
These decisions reflect a broader push within the Zcash community to streamline and expedite network improvements, particularly around privacy and transaction speed.
Technology upgrades and outlook
The shift to 25-second blocks aligns with ongoing efforts to boost the network’s transaction throughput and user experience. Earlier testing showed that new Zcash software improvements had already reduced proof generation times on mobile devices from over three seconds to less than 200 milliseconds, a development expected to make private ZEC payments much more practical in everyday use.
With these strong mandates, developers now have clear priorities for NU7, though all technical changes must still go through an implementation and testing phase before going live.
Despite the resounding outcome, the vote itself does not directly change the network; the implementation of approved features is still required. Compared to previous member polling, the current turnout and consensus are both markedly stronger, with just 7.25% of eligible ZEC participating in February’s earlier NU7 sentiment poll and notable disagreement between holders and the Community Advisory Panel.
