Zcash jumps 62% to $880 as holders face NU7 issuance vote

ZEC rose 62% to $880 as holders face a Monday snapshot to qualify for a vote on replacing Zcash's halving with gradual issuance.

According to terms published by vote organizers Valar Group and Project Tachyon, eligible holders must have spendable shielded ZEC in the Ironwood pool when the blockchain reaches block 3,459,350, estimated around 19:00 UTC on Aug. 24. Funds can be moved immediately after the snapshot.

The five-question poll runs Aug. 25 to Sept. 14 at 19:00 UTC. Organizers will treat results as representative if at least 1 million ZEC participates in at least one question, including abstentions — roughly 5.9 percent of the 16.89 million ZEC in circulation, per CoinGecko data from Aug. 22. ZEC traded at $830 at press time, with market cap at $14.53 billion and 24-hour volume at $1.56 billion, per CryptoSlate data.

The most consequential proposal, ZIP 234, would replace Zcash's periodic halvings with a gradual issuance curve while recycling ZEC removed through the Network Sustainability Mechanism into future block rewards. The change would not alter the 21 million supply cap. A separate question under ZIP 218 would cut target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The poll is advisory — approved changes still require development and deployment before becoming consensus rules.

The block reward currently stands at 1.5625 ZEC, with the next halving scheduled for block height 4,406,400, expected in 2028. ZIP 234 explicitly cites the security budget as its rationale: the fixed halving schedule provides no mechanism to feed funds removed from circulation back into issuance, leaving the network reliant on transaction fees alone once planned issuance ends.

A separate ballot question asks when ZEC removed from circulation should begin returning through block rewards, with options including as soon as possible, February 2027, or February 2031. The remaining questions cover when to disable transactions tied to the deprecated Sprout pool and whether NU7 should launch without features that miss a Sept. 30 implementation deadline or be delayed until all approved changes are ready.

The Ironwood pool, which determines eligibility, arrived with network upgrade NU6.3 on July 28, 2026 at block height 3,428,143. It replaced the previous Orchard pool after a vulnerability was found in its proving circuit in May 2026 that could have allowed ZEC to be created without a public trace. Holders with ZEC in older shielded pools or on transparent addresses do not meet the eligibility condition.

Votes are recorded through a purpose-built Tokenholder Voting Chain, a separate blockchain that collects ballots without touching the Zcash main chain. Supporting wallets include Vizor and Zodl.

The vote comes as ZEC trades near its highest level since 2018, with the 30-day gain at 81.75 percent and the 60-day move at 115.72 percent, per CryptoSlate data. The all-time high of $3,191.93 dates from Oct. 28, 2016, the coin's first day of trading. The governance process mirrors Bitcoin's halving debate, with Zcash among the largest 15 chains by market cap openly putting its monetary schedule up for discussion.

For holders on exchanges, eligibility is unclear. The project source specifies only shielded, spendable balances in Ironwood, and custodians have not confirmed whether they will vote on behalf of customers. Self-custody with a shielded Ironwood balance is the only guaranteed route to participation.

The snapshot is a date for action, not an event — nothing automatic happens in the market at block 3,459,350. The vote result, due Sept. 14, is advisory rather than a switchover date, with the next halving still roughly two years away on the current schedule.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.