Zcash has applied its next upgrade, NU7, to its testnet. The upgrade aims to cut block creation time on the mainnet to 25 seconds from 75 seconds while reducing per-block issuance to keep total daily issuance unchanged. Zcash is targeting around Nov. 5 for mainnet deployment and plans to decide on final implementation after reflecting testnet results on Oct. 20. NU7 also changes fee handling and drops support for older transaction formats and the Sprout pool.

Bitcoin hardliner Samson Mow (샘슨 모우) questioned Zcash’s sharp rise, arguing its market capitalisation is excessive after the token surged more than 1,000 percent since the start of the year. He said Zcash’s value was artificially inflated and would revert to the mean, adding there was not enough speculative money to sustain its position as a top-10 cryptocurrency with a market cap above $22 billion. Zcash supporters pointed to network upgrades and shifting liquidity conditions.