Zcash NU7 Lands November 5: Faster Blocks, Frozen Sprout Coins, and Why I Have No ZEC Trade On

Zcash NU7 activates on mainnet around November 5, 2026, at block 3,543,405. The upgrade cuts block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, and it stops version 4 transactions. That second part matters, because v4 is the only format that can spend coins from the old Sprout shielded pool. Roughly 22,000 ZEC sit in that pool today. Once NU7 goes live, those coins stop moving. Eleven days out, ZEC trades near $1,200, down about 25% from where it sat a month ago. Meanwhile, money is flowing back into the ETFs.