Zcash NU7 Upgrade to Close Sprout Spending Path
Current overview (not historical)
The Zcash Foundation has proposed the NU7 upgrade to permanently close the Sprout privacy pool spending route. Under the new rules, ZIP 2003 will reject version‑4 transactions, which are required for Sprout transfers, while versions 5 and 6 will not support them. As a result, roughly 22,309 ZEC that are currently locked in old Sprout private keys will become permanently unmovable on the upgraded network. The deployment specification for NU7 does not yet assign an activation height; a final decision is scheduled for October 20 following testnet experience. If approved, the target activation date remains November 5, contingent on that decision.
Written with AI from the reporting · updated 10/18/2026
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- 1Unclassified fact stationOct 19, 03:37single sourcereport-time onlyrevised
Zcash NU7 upgrade would close Sprout spending route
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- Subject：
- Zcash Foundation
- Action：
- proposed NU7 upgrade to close Sprout spending path
- Object：
- Sprout privacy pool
- Occurred (fact side)：
- not recorded
- Published (valid side)：
- Oct 19, 03:00
- First seen (known side)：
- Oct 19, 03:37
Fact stationSingle source · one-sided claimRevisedReport-time onlyCopy may have been revised later; time replay is bounded. Layer labels group reading only, not causation between layers.
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- CryptoSlateRelated fact: single sourceFact occurrence time unverifiedSource report revisedZcash NU7 upgrade would freeze Sprout pool, locking 22,309 ZEC in oldest privacy pool
Report first recorded Oct 19, 03:37
Zcash's proposed NU7 upgrade would close the spending route out of its oldest privacy pool, Sprout, leaving approximately 22,309 ZEC unable to move on the upgraded network. The change, outlined in ZIP 2003, proposes rejecting version 4 transactions from NU7 onward, a format required by Sprout transfers but unsupported by versions 5 and 6. While holders retain their private keys, the network would no longer accept version 4 transactions, effectively locking those funds. A final activation height remains undecided, with a target date of Nov. 5 conditional on the Oct. 20 decision. Recovery options exist but require significant effort, including reconstructing historical data and transferring funds to newer pools like Sapling, which involves privacy trade-offs and fees.
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