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Zcash NU7 Upgrade Activates, Leaving 12,224 ZEC Unspendable in Sprout Pool
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NU7 activated at block 3,543,405 around 02:34 UTC on November 6, 2026. About 12,224 ZEC in Sprout become unspendable, worth roughly $15–$16 million.
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NU7 Goes Live
Zcash activated its NU7 network upgrade at block 3,543,405 at 02:34 UTC on November 6, 2026, according to blockchain tracker ZecStats. NU7 introduced a Network Sustainability Mechanism that removes 60% of transaction fees for future mining rewards, with the gradual return through mining rewards expected around February 2031.
NU7 also cut Zcash’s target time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, while mining difficulty adjustments would move actual block intervals toward the new target. NU7 made legacy Sprout funds effectively unspendable by rejecting version 4 transactions, the only transaction format that supports spending from Sprout.
12,224 ZEC Stranded
ZecStats listed the Sprout pool balance at about 12,224 ZEC at the time NU7 took effect, and the upgrade rendered those remaining coins unspendable under the new rules. Cointelegraph said NU7 made about $15 million in ZEC held in the network’s legacy Sprout shielded pool unspendable, while a future network upgrade could potentially restore access.
The NU7 specification left open the possibility of recovery by re-enabling version 4 transactions or introducing another mechanism to retrieve the funds, but it warned that "the ability to spend Sprout funds may never be re-enabled." Decrypt said NU7 makes v4 transactions invalid, so what remains in Sprout is "frozen, not burned," and it tied the risk to the activation at block 3,543,405.
What Changes Next
Zcash’s NU7 changes paired the Sprout spending restriction with operational limits on shielded activity, which the sources linked to reducing wallet synchronization demands. The Bitcoin Foundation said NU7 limits shielded activity per block to ease wallet scanning, while it also preserved Zcash’s 21 million ZEC supply cap and halving schedule.
Cointelegraph said NU7 preserves the 21 million ZEC supply cap and halving schedule, while introducing limits on shielded activity designed to reduce wallet synchronization demands. For holders, the sources framed the immediate consequence as a conditional protocol option rather than a guarantee, because the specification warned that spending Sprout funds may never be re-enabled.