Zcash holders have delivered a decisive governance signal for the upcoming NU7 network upgrade, with nearly 2.4 million ZEC participating in a private weighted poll. The turnout represented roughly 66% of the 3.6 million ZEC held in the eligible Ironwood shielded pool at the snapshot height, far above the 1 million ZEC minimum organizers set for a representative result.
According to results published on the Zcash Community Forum, about 99.9% of participating ZEC supported reducing block target spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds under ZIP 218. The proposal adjusts the per-block subsidy after NU7 activation so that faster blocks do not increase total issuance, with a calculated post-NU7 reward of 0.26041666 ZEC per block. Approximately 98.9% of participating ZEC backed preserving the existing Bitcoin-style halving schedule rather than adopting the smoother issuance curve described in ZIP 234.
On the question of the Network Sustainability Mechanism, 96.6% of participating ZEC favored February 2031 as the start date for reissuing ZEC previously removed from circulation. Representatives of Shielded Labs, Project Tachyon, Zodl, the Zcash Foundation and Valar Group later aligned on February 2031 as the most conservative interpretation of the mixed governance results. Coinholders also showed strong support for moving NU7 forward without waiting indefinitely: about 99.3% backed launching the upgrade as soon as possible while dropping features that miss the September 30 readiness deadline.
The vote used a dedicated chain created by Valar Group, with homomorphically encrypted ballots divided into 16 unlinkable pieces. Eligible voters were limited to spendable shielded funds held in Ironwood at the August 24 snapshot, recorded at mainnet block 3,459,350, though coins could be moved afterward without affecting eligibility. Voting closed on September 14 at 19:00 UTC. The parallel Zcash Community Advisory Panel poll drew 135 ballots from 198 eligible members, a 68% response rate, and that panel was closely divided over issuance smoothing with 57 votes for smoothing and 54 for preserving halvings.
Voting results do not themselves change Zcash consensus rules. Developers still need to finalize technical specifications, code, testing and activation parameters. Market data on September 16 placed ZEC near $1,146, up about 2% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization near $19.4 billion and a 24-hour range of approximately $1,114 to $1,223.
