Zcash developers propose 20-second blocks days after major upgrade

Zcash developers have proposed reducing the network’s block time from 25 seconds to 20 seconds, just days after the NU7 upgrade made transaction confirmations three times faster. Summary Zcash developers proposed reducing target block times from 25 seconds to 20 following November’s upgrade. Early mining figures showed relatively low orphan rates despite the network producing blocks much faster. Developers tested 20-second blocks using 80 miners across 12 regions before submitting their latest proposal. The proposed changes would preserve Zcash’s daily shielded transaction capacity and existing token issuance schedule. Developers want community approval before including the shorter block interval in the future NU7.1 upgrade. According to a proposal published on the Zcash community forum on Nov. 8, developers Dev Ojha, known as ValarDragon, and Evan Forbes want the change considered for the upcoming NU7.1 upgrade. Their proposal follows early network results showing that faster blocks have not caused the increase in competing blocks that developers initially feared. The proposed adjustment would reduce the expected time for a transaction’s first confirmation by another five seconds....