Zcash surged toward $1,400 on Thursday after coinholders backed the network’s next major upgrade while preserving its existing Bitcoin-style halving schedule. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency reached $1,388 and traded around $1,368, gaining roughly 11% on the day and 168% over the past 30 days.
The rally followed the results of the NU7 governance vote, which attracted nearly 2.4 million ZEC. That represented about two-thirds of the eligible voting supply and gave holders a direct role in determining the network’s monetary and technical changes.
NU7 Vote Sets Network Direction
Coinholders voted 98.9% to retain Zcash’s existing halving structure instead of adopting a smoother issuance curve. They also supported reducing target block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, a change designed to shorten confirmation waits.
The vote also favored several other changes:
- Delaying Network Sustainability Mechanism fee reissuance until February 2031
- Disabling transactions associated with the obsolete Sprout privacy pool
- Moving ahead with NU7 while dropping features that remain unfinished after September 30
The voting system used shielded ZEC and encrypted ballots. This allowed voting power to reflect token holdings without publicly exposing individual balances or choices.
Privacy Narrative Gains Momentum
ZEC’s latest advance extends a sharp recovery. The token has gained more than 2,500% over the past year and recently became one of the largest crypto assets by market value.
Market participants have increasingly focused on financial privacy as artificial intelligence makes blockchain activity easier to analyze. The launch of a Grayscale Zcash exchange-traded fund has also expanded institutional access to the asset.
However, the NU7 vote does not immediately activate every approved change. Developers still need to implement and test the selected features before the network upgrade takes effect. Mean while, Zcash’s sharp price increase leaves the token exposed to significant volatility as traders assess whether the recent momentum can continue.
