Zcash coinholders voted to retain Bitcoin-style halvings in the NU7 upgrade, driving ZEC price to $1,400 and up 168% over the past month.
Regulation & Gov ·
Zcash reached $1,388 Thursday following community approval of its NU7 upgrade, with the privacy token trading at $1,368 and up 168% over 30 days. Coinholders voted 98.9% to retain Bitcoin-style halvings rather than adopt smooth issuance, with a record 66% turnout representing 2.4 million ZEC cast. The upgrade also locked in faster 25-second blocks, immediate retirement of the legacy Sprout pool, and a reduced September 30 completion target. One point of division emerged on the network sustainability mechanism: holders chose February 2031 for fee recycling to miners by 96.6%, though advisory panels had advocated immediate implementation. Key stakeholders including Shielded Labs, Project Tachyon, and the Zcash Foundation subsequently aligned on the February 2031 date.
ZEC's 168% monthly surge reflects broader momentum that has lifted the asset more than 2,500% over the past year, partly attributed to Grayscale's institutional ETF launch last month. Privacy coins have gained traction as regulatory concerns have eased and the narrative has shifted from anonymity to financial confidentiality, with AI increasing the cost of identifying on-chain behaviors.
Open questions include whether the February 2031 fee-recycling date will hold or face revision, and whether the token's momentum will sustain given analyst price targets cited in the range of $1,500 to $2,000. The token has tripled since July's Ironwood upgrade, which had temporarily depressed price when disclosure of a critical bug emerged.