Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
As of October 7, 2026, NU7’s Testnet activation date and height have passed, but the sources cited here do not independently confirm that activation occurred. Mainnet activation is not scheduled at a confirmed height. The Zcash Foundation’s October 2 Zebra announcement gave Testnet operators a target height of 4,465,026 and said to upgrade before it. The community timeline listed October 6 for Testnet, October 20 for a Mainnet decision, and November 5 as a target Mainnet date. The last two are future milestones, not confirmed activation details.
What is Zcash NU7?
NU7 is a planned Zcash network upgrade. Its proposed changes concern block spacing, transaction fees, issuance, transaction versions, and address lists. The upgrade proposal is still the deciding document: items on a planned list should not be treated as finalized unless they appear in the published deployment decision.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Cryptocurrency: Turn $20.00 In To $20,000: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide About Blockchain Wallet,... | $2.99 | Buy on Amazon |
ZIP 259 is a draft deployment proposal. The Zcash ZIP index lists these planned NU7 items:
- ZIP 218: target block spacing of 25 seconds.
- ZIP 235: removing 60% of transaction fees from circulation.
- ZIP 237: halving-preserving issuance.
- ZIP 2003: disabling version 4 transactions.
- ZIP 2008: an address-list update.
- ZIP 317: may also be updated.
The exact set of changes depends on the final deployment proposal. The official NU7 page and the draft ZIP do not expose the same level of deployment detail, so confirm the final proposal before relying on any item as settled.
Did NU7 activate on Testnet?
The Zcash Foundation’s October 2, 2026 announcement for Zebra 7.0.0-rc.0 set Testnet activation at height 4,465,026 and told Testnet node operators to upgrade before reaching it. A Zcash community timeline listed October 6, 2026 as the Testnet date. Both milestones had passed by October 7, but those schedule statements alone do not verify that the chain activated as planned.
To establish observed activation, check a current Zcash project status page or Testnet chain data. Do not treat the scheduled height or date as proof of the chain’s present state.
When will NU7 activate on Mainnet?
No Mainnet activation height had been set on the official Zcash NU7 page or in the Foundation’s October 2 announcement. The community timeline scheduled a Mainnet decision for October 20 and listed November 5 as a target date. As of October 7, those were future milestones; neither date was a confirmed activation.
For a Mainnet readiness decision, use the official upgrade page and the published deployment decision rather than extrapolating from Testnet timing or a community target date.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →What changes should users expect if the proposals are adopted?
Shorter target block spacing is not a 25-second confirmation guarantee
The Foundation describes the change as moving from a 75-second average first-confirmation wait to a 25-second target block spacing. The first figure is an average stated by the Foundation; the second is a protocol target. Neither means every payment will confirm in exactly 25 seconds. Actual confirmation depends on block production and the transaction’s circumstances.
Faster blocks do not by themselves establish annual ZEC issuance
A community timeline records the question, “doesn’t that make the rewards more frequent thus more ZEC released yearly?” Block frequency alone cannot answer it. NU7’s planned set also includes ZIP 237, described as halving-preserving issuance, and ZIP 235, concerning the removal of 60% of transaction fees from circulation. The final per-block reward and issuance rules must be assessed together with block spacing; the listed 25-second target alone is not evidence of a particular annual issuance total.
Version 4 transactions and Sprout funds
ZIP 2003 proposes disabling version 4 transactions. ZIP 259 says that if version 4 transactions are disabled, any funds still in the Sprout pool become unspendable, because Sprout transfers can only be represented by version 4 transactions. This warning is specific to funds remaining in Sprout; it does not mean all shielded ZEC is affected.
ZIP 259 says version 5 and version 6 transaction structures remain unchanged, and the Foundation says the upgrade introduces no new transaction format. That does not make a transaction automatically valid across the activation boundary: ZIP 259 notes that signatures commit to a consensus branch ID.
What should node operators do?
The official NU7 page says that if the expected major consensus changes are included, NU7 will not be supported by zcashd, and operators should prepare to upgrade to Zebra. The page also says zcashd is being deprecated.
The Foundation’s October 2 announcement covered Zebra 7.0.0-rc.0, a release candidate, not a stable release. It stated: “Mainnet operators do not need to do anything yet: no Mainnet activation height has been set, and this is a release candidate, not a stable release.” Operators should check the current Zebra release channel and its upgrade instructions before making a production change; the release candidate announcement is not a substitute for those instructions.
How can wallet users check NU7 readiness?
The sources available as of October 7 do not establish comprehensive, wallet-by-wallet NU7 readiness. Zcash Labs’ vote site listed Vizor, Zodl, and Zkool as supporting its NU7 coinholder vote and said Keystone hardware wallets work with that voting system. This is evidence about that vote flow, not proof that those products support every NU7-related wallet function or migration.
Quick Recap
- Check your wallet provider’s current NU7 statement, supported version, and any migration instructions.
- If you hold Sprout funds, confirm whether and how to move them before any final decision to disable version 4 transactions takes effect.
- Do not infer general NU7 readiness from a wallet’s participation in the coinholder vote.
- Confirm model and wallet compatibility before relying on a hardware wallet for the voting flow.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
