[REVISION HISTORY]

Zcash NU7 upgrade and market expansion

Updated 4 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-19 22:22 UTC → 2026-09-21 06:43 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Zcash network is undergoing technical transitions centered on the NU7 upgrade. Following an advisory period, holders approved reducing target block times from 75 to 25 seconds, maintaining the existing halving schedule, and deprecating the legacy Sprout pool. The upgrade also includes the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) to recycle transaction fees into future miner rewards. By September 2026, Zcash experienced a significant price surge of approximately 189% over 30 days, reaching levels near $1,489. This rally followed the August 2026 launch of Grayscale’s Zcash spot ETF (ZCSH) on NYSE Arca, which provided institutional access after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation without enforcement action. Market sentiment was further bolstered by endorsements from industry figures like Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, who described the network’s inflation-funded developer fund as an “elegant mechanism” for sustaining public goods. As of mid-September 2026, the ZEC price reached a new high of approximately $1,526, driven by rising institutional demand through the Grayscale product, which saw net assets reach roughly $890 million. This momentum has pushed the price past the $1,500 threshold, resulting in substantial liquidations for short sellers, including one trader facing unrealized losses exceeding $33 million. The NU7 upgrade is scheduled for testnet activation on October 6 and mainnet activation on November ~~5. Furthermore,~~ 5, with a final decision point for the ~~integration~~ mainnet expected on October 20. The reduction in block spacing aims to make direct private payments more practical at points of ~~NEAR Intents into~~ sale, though it increases technical requirements for node propagation and storage. Under the ~~Zashi wallet has linked Zcash liquidity~~ ZIP-235 sustainability mechanism, approximately 60 percent of transaction fees will be temporarily removed from circulation to ~~the NEAR ecosystem. This settlement infrastructure allows users~~ return to ~~perform cross-chain swaps between ZEC and assets such as BTC and SOL, creating a functional value link between~~ the ~~two protocols.~~ network via block rewards starting in February 2031.

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