Zcash rises 62% as holders prepare NU7 snapshot vote

Zcash climbed roughly 62% over the past week to a peak near $880 before easing to about $830, reaching levels not seen since 2018 as holders ready a governance vote on network changes.

A snapshot at block 3,459,350 will determine who can participate in the vote. The snapshot is estimated to occur around 19:00 UTC on Aug. 24. Terms published by vote organizers require holders to have spendable shielded ZEC on the Ironwood network at that block to qualify; funds may be moved immediately after the snapshot. Voting is scheduled to run from Aug. 25 through Sept. 14, ending at 19:00 UTC. Organizers will treat the poll as representative only if at least 1 million ZEC take part in at least one of the five questions, including abstentions.

The ballot asks coinholders to weigh changes to ZEC issuance and block timing, as well as other adjustments tied to the NU7 upgrade. One proposal would replace periodic halvings with a gradual issuance curve and route ZEC that has been removed from circulation back into future block rewards via the Network Sustainability Mechanism. That proposal does not alter Zcash’s total supply cap. Voters can instead opt to keep the current halving schedule or exclude issuance smoothing from NU7. A separate question sets the start date for returning recycled ZEC to block rewards, with options that include immediately, February 2027 or February 2031.

Another ballot item would adopt ZIP 218 to cut the network’s target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The shorter target would increase the number of blocks produced each day; per-block rewards would be adjusted so total issuance over time remains comparable.

Additional questions cover when to disable transactions tied to the deprecated Sprout pool and whether NU7 should launch without features that cannot meet a Sept. 30 implementation deadline or be delayed until all approved changes are ready.

The vote is advisory. Any approved proposals must still undergo technical development and be implemented by developers and maintainers before they become consensus rules on the network.

Market data shows ZEC’s market capitalization near $14.6 billion, a circulating supply of about 16.84 million coins, and 24-hour trading volume around $1.55 billion. The scheduled snapshot and subsequent vote will determine which holders can formally signal support for the proposed changes.