Zcash developers have proposed reducing the network's target block interval from 25 seconds to 20 seconds, seeking faster transaction confirmations just days after the privacy-focused blockchain activated its NU7 upgrade.

Draft ZIP targets faster confirmations

On Sunday, developers ValarDragon and Evan Forbes submitted a draft Zcash Improvement Proposal (ZIP) on the Zcash community forum, titled "Lower Zcash block target spacing from 25s to 20s." The authors asked for the change to be included in the next community poll and considered for the upcoming NU7.1 network upgrade.

Under Zcash's open governance process, draft ZIPs are debated and refined on the forum, and community polls are used to gauge support before a change is scheduled into a network upgrade. Block target spacing is one of the most fundamental parameters in a proof-of-work protocol, shaping both how quickly a transaction receives its first confirmation and how frequently miners find new blocks.

The developers said the reduction would shorten the expected wait for initial transaction confirmations — the point at which a transaction is first included in a block. They argued this would improve the user experience for point-of-sale payments, exchange deposits and cross-chain swaps.

The draft also outlines what the change would not do. The developers said the reduction would not increase the network's overall daily capacity for private transactions, and it would preserve Zcash's existing issuance schedule despite blocks being produced more frequently — which, in practice, means a proportionally smaller subsidy per block so that emission over time stays the same.

NU7 cut block times from 75 to 25 seconds

The proposal arrives only days after the NU7 upgrade itself went live. On Friday, NU7 was activated on the Zcash mainnet, lowering the network's target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.

That upgrade also introduced a Network Sustainability Mechanism, designed to recycle a portion of transaction fees into future mining rewards while preserving Zcash's 21 million ZEC supply cap.

Zcash, launched in 2016, is a proof-of-work blockchain focused on private payments; its zero-knowledge cryptography allows users to shield transaction details from public view.

If the draft advances through the community poll and is ultimately included in NU7.1, the network's block spacing would fall twice within a single week — from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, and then to 20 seconds — pending final approval. The near-term checkpoints to watch are the outcome of the community poll and the finalized scope of NU7.1.

Source: Cointelegraph