POPA ReconZcash's NU7 is its next network upgrade, set to activate on mainnet at block 3,543,405, expected around November 5, 2026 (WuBlockchain, CoinDesk). The headline change is speed: the target block interval drops from 75 seconds to 25, so a payment gets three confirmations in about 75 seconds instead of nearly four minutes. That part is already live on testnet, where Zakura's dashboard lists activation height 4,465,026 with targetSpacingSeconds=25 (Zakura), and that block was mined on October 4, 2026 (CryptoVince_).
It also carries ZIP-235, the Network Sustainability Mechanism, which removes 60% of each block's transaction fees from circulation, and ZIP-237, which reissues that ZEC as future block rewards from around February 2031, roughly 210 ZEC a year at current fee levels, with the 21 million cap and the halving schedule preserved (Shielded Labs). Sprout, Zcash's original privacy pool, shuts down entirely, so funds not moved before activation become unspendable (Cointelegraph).
The date is a target, not a shipped fact. As of October 21 08:00 UTC the activation-height proposal had not yet been merged into the deployment specification, and the chosen height still had to be built into node software; the Zcash Foundation's readiness tracker showed 6 of 12 tasks done, with Zebra node synchronization work outstanding, and developers have not said whether that can move the date (Cointelegraph, Financier.News). The height is being set as part of final changes to ZIP 259 (ZakuraZcash). ZEC traded near $1,280, up 12.6% on the day (economist).