ZEC traded around $1,465-$1,470 on Sept. 18 after reaching an intraday high near $1,527. The move follows a dramatic rally that has pushed the privacy coin from roughly $500 in August into price discovery.
Now traders have another date to watch: Nov. 5.
The official NU7 timeline targets testnet activation for Oct. 6, a final mainnet decision on Oct. 20 and activation on Nov. 5. The upgrade would reduce Zcash's target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
ZEC Rally Meets a Major Network Upgrade
NU7 arrives while interest in Zcash is already surging.
ZEC recently exploded toward $1,400 after Paradigm disclosed its investment, with the rally dramatically outperforming Bitcoin at the time.
The latest advance has carried ZEC even further, although the move above $1,500 has proved volatile. Today's price briefly reached approximately $1,527 before pulling back toward $1,465.
NU7 could provide a fundamental narrative alongside that price momentum.
Moving from 75-second to 25-second blocks is designed to cut confirmation latency by roughly three times. The proposal also increases potential Orchard transaction throughput while keeping daily ZEC issuance on the existing schedule.
What Changes for ZEC Miners?
NU7 also introduces a new approach to network sustainability.
The planned mechanism would remove at least 60% of transaction fees from circulation temporarily, with those funds later reintroduced through future block subsidies beginning in 2031.
Importantly, Zcash holders overwhelmingly supported preserving the existing halving schedule, meaning NU7 isn't abandoning the Bitcoin-style scarcity model behind ZEC.
That adds another dimension to a rally already fueled by growing institutional attention. The combination of scarcity, privacy and faster transactions has helped turn Zcash into one of crypto's most closely watched assets after its record-breaking September rally.
