Zcash Weighs 20-Second Blocks Days After NU7 Speed Upgrade
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.
Content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Zcash developers have proposed cutting the blockchain's target block interval from 25 seconds to 20 seconds, seeking faster transaction confirmations only days after the network's NU7 upgrade reduced block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, according to Cointelegraph. The proposal was submitted as a draft Zcash Improvement Proposal (ZIP) on GitHub on Sunday by developers ValarDragon and Evan Forbes.
Event: A Second Speed Cut Proposed Within Days
According to Cointelegraph, ValarDragon and Evan Forbes want the 20-second block interval included in the next community poll and considered for the upcoming NU7.1 network upgrade. The timing is notable: NU7 was activated on the Zcash mainnet on Friday, cutting the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Two days later, the developers filed the draft for a further reduction.
NU7 also introduced a Network Sustainability Mechanism, which Cointelegraph describes as designed to recycle a portion of transaction fees into future mining rewards while preserving Zcash's 21 million ZEC supply cap.
Why Developers Want 20-Second Blocks
Per the proposal cited by Cointelegraph, the reduction would shorten the expected wait for initial transaction confirmations. The developers say this would improve the user experience for three use cases: point-of-sale payments, exchange deposits and cross-chain swaps. In each case, a user or service typically waits for a first confirmation before treating a payment as received, so a shorter block interval means a shorter wait.
What Changes and What Doesn't
Two limits in the proposal are worth separating from the headline speed claim. First, the developers said the change would not increase the network's overall daily capacity for private transactions, Cointelegraph reported. The proposal is about latency — how quickly a transaction receives its first confirmation — not about how many private transactions the network can process in a day.
Second, the proposal would preserve Zcash's existing issuance schedule despite blocks being produced more frequently, according to the report. That matters because shorter block intervals could otherwise raise questions about whether new ZEC would be issued faster than planned.
CoinHours analysis: An Iterative Push on Confirmation Speed
CoinHours analysis: The sequence reported by Cointelegraph — a 75-to-25-second cut activated on Friday, followed by a 25-to-20-second draft on Sunday — shows Zcash developers treating confirmation speed as an ongoing target rather than a one-off change. The use cases named in the proposal all involve someone waiting at the point of payment or deposit, which is where confirmation delays are most visible. Because the developers say daily capacity and issuance would not change, the trade-off being debated is narrow: faster first confirmations within the existing supply schedule.
What Comes Next
The next step, per Cointelegraph, is inclusion of the proposal in Zcash's next community poll, with the change to be considered for the NU7.1 upgrade. The report did not give a date for the poll or for NU7.1. Because the ZIP is still a draft on GitHub, the 20-second target remains a developer proposal rather than a confirmed network parameter.
Further reading / context
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Zcash developers proposing?+
A draft ZIP would cut the target block interval from 25 seconds to 20 seconds to shorten the wait for first confirmations, per Cointelegraph.
What did the NU7 upgrade change?+
NU7, activated on Friday, cut block times from 75 to 25 seconds and added a Network Sustainability Mechanism.
Would 20-second blocks increase Zcash's capacity?+
No. The developers said daily capacity for private transactions would not increase, and the issuance schedule would be preserved.
When could the change happen?+
It would go to the next community poll and be considered for NU7.1. No dates were given.
Sources & Further Reading
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