Gemini Preps for NU7 Upgrade by Switching to Faster Zcash Node Software

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has upgraded its Zcash node software ahead of the upcoming NU7 upgrade, which will reduce block times to 25 seconds from 75 seconds.

Gemini switched from Zebra to Zec.rocks, a new software that synchronizes with the latest block on the Zcash network in about six hours. This is a significant improvement over Zebra, which took around one day to synchronize.

Zec.rocks also provides a stored copy of recent network data, allowing node operators to bring backup nodes online using saved data rather than downloading Zcash's entire transaction history from the beginning. In Gemini's tests, this method was about 680 times faster than the standard synchronization process.