Zcash’s NU7 upgrade would permanently freeze about 12,224 ZEC, valued at roughly $15.6 million in Decrypt’s November 6, 2026 newsletter. The reported changes concern access to older coins and the network’s target block time—not a token unlock or distribution.
How the freeze would work
According to the newsletter, NU7 will invalidate the only transaction format that can move coins out of Sprout, Zcash’s original privacy pool introduced in 2016. A privacy pool is a component of the network used for private transactions.
Removing that transaction format would leave the affected ZEC permanently unable to move out of Sprout. The report describes a freeze; it does not describe those coins being redistributed to other holders.
Shorter target block times
The newsletter also reports that NU7 will cut Zcash’s target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. This is a change to the network’s intended interval between blocks, separate from the restriction affecting Sprout coins.
The supplied report does not give an activation date or specify any change to issuance or holder rewards. Those details should not be inferred from the shorter block-time target.
Source: Decrypt, “Morning Minute: Bitcoin Erases Election Rally as AI Stocks Crater”, by Tyler Warner. Published November 6, 2026, at 21:29:20 UTC+08:00. This summary preserves the report’s historical context; it is not confirmation that NU7 has since activated.