.. Title: Specifications and Zcash Improvement Proposals
What are ZIPs?
Zcash Improvement Proposals (ZIPs) are the way to:
- propose new features for the
Zcash cryptocurrency <https://z.cash/>__ and their rationale,
- specify the implementation details of the feature,
- collect community input on the proposal, and
- document design decisions.
Contributing
The authors of a ZIP are responsible for building consensus within the community
and documenting / addressing dissenting opinions.
Anyone can write a ZIP! We encourage community contributions and decentralization
of work on the Zcash protocol. If you’d like to bounce ideas off people before formally
writing a ZIP, we encourage it!
Visit the Zcash Community Forum <https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/c/community-collaboration/7>__
to talk about your idea.
Participation in the Zcash project is subject to a Code of Conduct <https://github.com/zcash/zcash/blob/master/code_of_conduct.md>__.
The Zcash protocol is documented in its
Protocol Specification <rendered/protocol/protocol.pdf>
(dark mode version) <rendered/protocol/protocol-dark.pdf>.
To start contributing, first read ZIP 0 <zips/zip-0000.rst> which documents the ZIP process.
Then clone this repo <https://github.com/zcash/zips> from GitHub, and start adding
your draft ZIP, formatted either as reStructuredText or as Markdown, into the zips/ directory.
For example, if using reStructuredText, use a filename matching zips/draft-*.rst.
Use make to check that you are using correct
reStructuredText <https://docutils.sourceforge.io/rst.html> or
Markdown <https://pandoc.org/MANUAL.html#pandocs-markdown> syntax,
and double-check the generated rendered/draft-*.html file before filing a Pull Request.
See here <protocol/README.rst>__ for the project dependencies.
Settled Mainnet Network Upgrade
The most recent settled Network Upgrade
on Mainnet is NU6.1, which activated at Mainnet block height 3146400 on November 24, 2025, at
19:56 UTC.
NU6.1 is described in ZIP 255: Deployment of the NU6.1 Network Upgrade <zips/zip-0255.md>__.
It deployed the following ZIPs:
ZIP 1016: Community and Coinholder Funding Model <zips/zip-1016.md>__ZIP 271: Deferred Dev Fund Lockbox Disbursement <zips/zip-0271.md>__
NU7 Candidate ZIPs
The following ZIPs are under consideration for deployment in NU7:
ZIP 218: 25-second Block Target Spacing <zips/zip-0218.md>__ZIP 226: Transfer and Burn of Zcash Shielded Assets <zips/zip-0226.rst>__ZIP 227: Issuance of Zcash Shielded Assets <zips/zip-0227.rst>__ZIP 230: Version 6 Transaction Format <zips/zip-0230.rst>__ZIP 231: Memo Bundles <zips/zip-0231.md>__ZIP 233: Network Sustainability Mechanism: Removing Funds From Circulation <zips/zip-0233.md>__ZIP 234: Network Sustainability Mechanism: Issuance Smoothing <zips/zip-0234.md>__ZIP 235: Network Sustainability Mechanism: Remove 60% of Transaction Fees From Circulation <zips/zip-0235.md>__ZIP 246: Digests for the Version 6 Transaction Format <zips/zip-0246.rst>__ZIP 2002: Explicit Fees <zips/zip-2002.rst>__ZIP 2003: Disallow version 4 transactions <zips/zip-2003.rst>__
In addition, ZIP 317: Proportional Transfer Fee Mechanism <zips/zip-0317.rst>__
may be updated.
This list is only provided here for easy reference; no decision has been made
on whether to include each of these ZIPs.
draft-arya-deploy-nu7: Deployment of the NU7 Network Upgrade <zips/draft-arya-deploy-nu7.md>__
will define which ZIPs are included in NU7.
License
Unless otherwise stated in this repository’s individual files, the
contents of this repository are released under the terms of the MIT
license. See COPYING <COPYING.rst>__ for more information or see
https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT .
Released ZIPs
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Draft ZIPs
These are works-in-progress that have been assigned ZIP numbers. These will
eventually become either Proposed (and thus Released), or one of Withdrawn,
Rejected, or Obsolete.
In some cases a ZIP number is reserved by the ZIP Editors before a draft is
written.
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Drafts without assigned ZIP numbers
These are works-in-progress, and may never be assigned ZIP numbers if their
ideas become obsoleted or abandoned. Do not assume that these drafts will exist
in perpetuity; instead assume that they will either move to a numbered ZIP, or
be deleted.
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Withdrawn, Rejected, or Obsolete ZIPs
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Click to show/hide
Index of ZIPs
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