ZEC prices surged nearly 40% over the past week to break past $1,627.82 according to CoinGecko data, posting an 8% gain in the last 24 hours. The price rally comes ahead of Zcash’s upcoming upgrade, dubbed NU7, scheduled to activate on mainnet on November 5, 2026. However, alongside the planned network enhancement, the upgrade proposal introduces fund-freezing rules for legacy users.
Technical details of the overhaul are outlined in the draft ZcashImprovementProposal-2003. The document mandates the network to disable version 4 transaction formats - a core transaction rule historically used to spend crypto funds within the Sprout shielded pool. Once version 4 transaction formats are officially deprecated during the upgrade, spending functionality from the legacy pool will be cut off.
Remaining ZEC funds left in the Sprout pool will automatically become unspendable after the upgrade takes effect. Coins left behind in the pool will not be burned or deleted from the blockchain ledger, but they will likely be unrecoverable by their original owners. Zcash network developers have not entirely ruled out future recovery options, but they declined to provide any firm guarantees for wallets that fail to migrate on time.
October 6 Testnet Deadline
Holders of legacy Zcash wallets are urged to check their applications. Every user must verify whether any Sprout ZEC or transparent ZEC balances remain in their wallets before the testnet launch arrives. Testing for the NU7 upgrade will go live on the testnet network on October 6, 2026, followed by a final decision on mainnet implementation on October 20.
Block Time Slashed by 50 Seconds
Alongside phasing out the legacy format, the NU7 upgrade will cut the target block generation time on the Zcash network from 75 seconds down to just 25 seconds per block. This 50-second reduction has been coded to align with and preserve Zcash’s current halving schedule.
Users still holding legacy wallets must migrate their coins before the version 4 format is deprecated next month. Reported by Cointelegraph.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
