ZEC holders have overwhelmingly voted to reduce the block interval to 25 seconds and maintain the halving schedule in the upcoming NU7 upgrade.
In a significant development for the Zcash network, approximately 2.4 million holders have overwhelmingly supported a proposal to reduce the block interval from 75 seconds to just 25 seconds. This change is part of the upcoming NU7 upgrade, with an impressive 99.9% of voters backing the initiative.
In a related question about the future of coin issuance, 98.9% of participants preferred to keep the existing halving schedule rather than transitioning to a gradual reduction in ZEC supply.
The voting mechanism was weighted by the amount of ZEC held, with around 2.4 million out of 3.6 million ZEC in the Ironwood secure pool participating. A minimum threshold of 1 million ZEC was established for participation.
Details of the Proposed Change
The proposal, detailed in ZIP 218, aims to cut the target block interval while setting limits on operations in the Sapling and Orchard secure pools. Notably, this adjustment will not increase coin emissions; instead, the block reward will decrease proportionately, ensuring the overall ZEC issuance remains unchanged.
With this change, the expected transaction throughput for standard transactions in Orchard could rise from 2.9 to 6.6 transactions per second. Additionally, the maximum data size for synchronizing light wallets is projected to drop by about 37%, from 271 MB to 169 MB daily.
Earlier this year, the Zakura team introduced new cryptographic libraries for Zcash, with claims that they can reduce the time required to prepare private transactions from over three seconds to under 200 milliseconds in certain cases.
Support for Halving Model Maintained
A key aspect of the voting centered around the ZEC emission mechanism. Voters were asked whether to retain the periodic halving of miner rewards or to adopt a more gradual reduction in issuance. The halving model received substantial support, with 2,376 million ZEC voting in favor, while only 22,384.875 ZEC favored a gradual approach. Another 4,147.625 ZEC chose not to support any changes to the emission mechanism.
However, a separate poll from the Zcash Community Advisory Panel (ZCAP) revealed a split opinion among its members, with 57 supporting a gradual reduction and 54 preferring to maintain the halving process. Out of 198 members, 135 participated in this advisory vote, representing 68% of the panel.
Network Sustainability Mechanism Considerations
The voting also addressed the proposed Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), which aims to withdraw a portion of ZEC from circulation, including fees, with a plan to return these coins through future miner rewards. Approximately 96.6% of ZEC holders supported initiating this return in February 2031, while about 70,240 ZEC preferred an immediate start. However, other surveys indicated a general preference for an earlier return.
Organizations within the Zcash ecosystem, including Shielded Labs and the Zcash Foundation, agreed to consider February 2031 as a conservative interpretation of the results, with the possibility of a new vote if necessary.
Urgency for NU7 Activation
In another strong show of support, around 99.3% of ZEC holders voted in favor of disabling transactions from the outdated Sprout secure pool with the activation of NU7. The community expressed a desire to launch the update as soon as possible, excluding features that cannot be prepared by the September 30 deadline, rather than delaying the entire upgrade.
The voting process ensured confidentiality, with only ZEC held in Ironwood during the snapshot eligible to vote. Votes were encrypted to protect individual choices and balances.
While the voting results are advisory and do not directly change the protocol, the selected features will undergo implementation, testing, and integration into NU7. Notably, the Ironwood update was activated on July 28 after a critical vulnerability was discovered in Orchard, leading to the creation of a new secure pool and limiting the previous one’s functionality.
