Zcash Holders Back Faster Blocks and a Bitcoin-Style Halving for NU7

ChainCatcher reports that Zcash (ZEC) holders have voted by a landslide to speed up transactions and keep the Bitcoin-style halving schedule as part of Zcash's next major network upgrade, NU7. Roughly 2.4 million ZEC took part in the on-chain governance vote, about two-thirds of the approximately 3.6 million ZEC deemed eligible at the snapshot. Voting was weighted by holdings, with each eligible ZEC counted as one vote. Among participating ZEC, support levels were broad-based: 99.9% favored cutting block time to 25 seconds from 75 seconds; 98.9% supported retaining the Bitcoin-style halving mechanism; 96.6% backed postponing the reissuance of fees collected under the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) until February 2031; and 99.3% supported shipping NU7 as soon as possible while dropping any features that remain unimplemented by the Sept. 30 deadline. Participation was limited to holders with ZEC in Zcash's newest privacy pool, Ironwood. Ballots were encrypted and split into 16 parts for counting, preventing validators from reconstructing individual votes or balances. The turnout contrasts with a NU7 sentiment survey conducted in February, which drew responses representing only 7.25% of circulating ZEC. The vote does not, by itself, change the network: the approved proposals still must be implemented, tested, and incorporated into the final NU7 release.