Zcash surges toward $1,600 as developers target November upgrade

Zcash (ZEC) has surged toward $1,600 amid major network and institutional developments. Developers are targeting a November 5, 2026 mainnet launch for the NU7 upgrade, which will cut block times from 75 to 25 seconds. This technical milestone is supported by an advisory vote where 98.9% of coinholders backed preserving Zcash's halving schedule. Meanwhile, Grayscale's Zcash ETF (ZCSH) has ballooned to over $914 million in net assets, prompting a 3-for-1 forward share split scheduled for late September to increase retail accessibility.

NU7 upgrade technical specifications

• ▪Zcash's NU7 upgrade will divide the mining reward per block by three and extend the halving interval from 1.68 million blocks to 5.04 million blocks to keep total issuance unchanged
• ▪Zcash developers are targeting November 5, 2026 for the activation of Zcash's NU7 network upgrade on the mainnet
• ▪Zcash developers plan to activate Zcash's NU7 upgrade on Zcash's testnet on October 6, 2026, with a final mainnet activation decision scheduled for October 20, 2026
• ▪The NU7 upgrade will reduce Zcash target block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds to make private payments faster

Paradigm institutional ZEC holdings

• ▪Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed on September 16, 2026 that the investment firm owns ZEC, describing Zcash as a private complement to Bitcoin
• ▪The disclosure of ZEC holdings by Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang on September 16, 2026, confirmed existing exposure rather than representing a newly announced purchase

Grayscale ZCSH ETF growth

• ▪Grayscale's Zcash ETF (ZCSH) accumulated $914.53 million in net assets and $270.95 million in cumulative net inflows within a month of its August 25, 2026 debut
• ▪Grayscale announced a 3-for-1 forward share split for its Zcash ETF (ZCSH) on September 18, 2026, with split-adjusted trading scheduled to begin on September 30, 2026

Network Sustainability Mechanism vote

• ▪Zcash voters approved delaying the reintroduction of tokens accumulated through the Network Sustainability Mechanism into future block rewards until February 2031
• ▪Zcash coinholders overwhelmingly voted to preserve the network's Bitcoin-style halving schedule, with 98.9% of the September 2026 advisory vote backing the halving schedule
• ▪Zcash's Network Sustainability Mechanism, part of the NU7 upgrade, will temporarily remove approximately 60% of transaction fees from circulation under ZIP-235 to bank them for future mining rewards

Debatable claims

• ▪Zcash should replace its halving schedule with a gradual token issuance curve
• ▪Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies should offer optional disclosure features to facilitate regulatory compliance