Zcash holders back faster blocks and halving schedule in NU7 vote

Zcash coinholders have delivered a decisive governance mandate for the network's next major upgrade, NU7, overwhelmingly backing faster transactions while preserving the cryptocurrency's Bitcoin-style halving schedule. Nearly 2.4 million ZEC participated in a private poll that closed on September 14, with 99.9% supporting a reduction in target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and 98.9% voting to keep the existing halving mechanism. The vote, conducted using a privacy-preserving system, drew roughly two-thirds of the 3.6 million ZEC eligible at the snapshot. Only spendable shielded ZEC held in the Ironwood pool could participate, with ballots encrypted and split into 16 unlinkable pieces to conceal individual balances and choices. This allowed economic weight to count without publicly revealing which holder backed which option. The results provide developers with a clear mandate, but the vote is advisory and does not automatically change network consensus rules. The NU7 upgrade's activation date remains undetermined, and developers must still implement, test, and finalize the code before the 25-second blocks can activate.