Status checked September 17, 2026.

What the Coinholder Poll Supported

Zcash coinholders backed reducing the network’s target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and retaining scheduled halvings in a sentiment poll on NU7. Cointelegraph reported the results on September 16, 2026. Support reached 99.9% for faster blocks and 98.9% for keeping halvings. These are ZEC-weighted vote percentages, including abstentions—not percentages of individual holders. Cointelegraph report; official coinholder results.

For ZEC miners, the immediate distinction is straightforward: the poll supports proposed changes; it does not activate them.

NU7 Status: A Technical Draft Exists, but Activation Is Pending

The shorter-interval proposal is documented in draft ZIP 218. The NU7 deployment draft still lists both testnet and mainnet activation heights as undetermined. Technical drafting has therefore already occurred, while final inclusion and activation remain pending. ZIP 218; NU7 deployment draft.

Coinholders also favored excluding features not implemented by September 30. That implementation deadline should not be presented as an activation date. Official coinholder results.

What a 25-Second Target Block Interval Means

The target block interval—called “block target spacing” in Zcash’s specification—is the average spacing the difficulty-adjustment algorithm aims to maintain. Individual blocks can arrive sooner or later. Moving from 75 to 25 seconds would target three times as many blocks per day. ZIP 218.

Zcash’s 2019 Blossom upgrade previously shortened target spacing from 150 to 75 seconds. Blossom halved the interval; the new proposal would reduce it to one-third of its current length. Both changes shorten block spacing, but by different factors. ZIP 208.

More Blocks Do Not Mean Three Times the New ZEC

ZIP 218 proposes a corresponding reduction in the per-block subsidy and an adjustment to the halving interval measured in blocks. The aim is to preserve scheduled new issuance over time and the expected halving cadence. Actual calendar dates remain dependent on block production. ZIP 218.

This should be separated from the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The poll’s “preserve halvings” option retains the existing schedule for new ZEC while allowing ZEC removed from circulation through NSM to be recycled into future block rewards. Keeping halvings therefore does not mean every future reward flow must remain unchanged. Official poll questions.

What ZEC Miners Should Watch

• Subsidy earnings variability. More frequent, smaller subsidy payments could smooth solo-mining or small-pool earnings over a fixed period, assuming unchanged hashrate share and comparable stale-block losses. This concerns variability in ZEC earnings, not a guaranteed increase in expected income.
• Block propagation. Shorter spacing makes propagation and validation delays more significant relative to the interval between blocks. Miners should monitor stale-block losses rather than assume that more frequent blocks will translate directly into smoother realized earnings.
• Difficulty adjustment. The draft changes the averaging window from 17 to 102 blocks. At the respective target intervals, that is 21.25 minutes versus 42.5 minutes—twice the elapsed time, rather than an unchanged smoothing period. ZIP 218.

Pool Payment Methods and Calculation Inputs Are Different Things

A block-spacing change does not automatically replace a mining pool’s payment method. However, retaining PPS+ or PPLNS does not mean every calculation input or crediting time stays unchanged.

ViaBTC describes PPS+ as combining PPS calculation for the base mining reward with PPLNS distribution of transaction fees. Its PPS calculation depends on submitted shares, network difficulty, the applicable reward, and fees. PPLNS earnings depend on actual pool-found blocks and the miner’s contribution within the relevant share window. ViaBTC reward calculations.

Consequently, subsidy and difficulty changes can affect the inputs used to value shares. Faster blocks can also affect the elapsed time needed to reach a confirmation requirement. Crediting earnings to a pool account and withdrawing funds are separate steps; faster network blocks do not automatically mean more frequent external payments.

Do Miners Need to Change Settings Now?

No mining hardware, firmware, or pool-connection change is warranted solely in response to this sentiment poll. Future preparation should follow finalized upgrade specifications, activation announcements, and relevant pool or software instructions. As of September 17, the deployment draft still has no mainnet activation height. NU7 deployment draft.

FAQ

Has Zcash activated 25-second blocks?

No. The change remains proposed for NU7, with mainnet activation still undetermined in the deployment draft. NU7 deployment draft.

Would faster blocks increase my ZEC earnings?

Not automatically. More frequent blocks are intended to be offset by smaller subsidies. Individual results also depend on hashrate share, network conditions, transaction fees, and the pool’s payment method.

Does keeping halvings rule out NSM reissuance?

No. The poll’s preserve-halvings option explicitly allows eventual recycling of ZEC removed from circulation through NSM into future block rewards. Official poll questions.

Would a pool have to change from PPS+ or PPLNS?

The block-spacing proposal does not itself require switching payment methods. Calculation inputs and block-dependent crediting times can still change under the same method.