Zcash launches 25-second blocks in testnet

The NU7 protocol upgrade has been successfully activated on Zcash's public testnet. This change significantly optimizes blockchain performance by reducing block generation time.

Block creation intervals have decreased from 75 to 25 seconds, a threefold acceleration. These changes took effect at block 4,465,026 and are available for testing by developers, exchanges, and infrastructure operators.

Maintaining the requirement of three transaction confirmations, estimated payment or deposit processing times will drop from 225 to 75 seconds. Actual processing intervals may vary slightly from these estimates.

The update also alters mining economics: miners now receive 40% of fees, while the remaining 60% are burned and added to the future reward reserve. The block reward is reduced threefold to maintain the original ZEC emission schedule.

A decision on deploying the upgrade to the mainnet is planned for October 20. Official implementation is scheduled for November 5 this year.