Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have filed an S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Zcash exchange-traded fund, according to a filing made Monday. The fund would hold ZEC directly and track its price, allowing investors to gain exposure through traditional brokerage accounts without directly purchasing and storing the token.
The proposed fund would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol WINK and charge a 0.25% sponsor fee. Gemini, the Winklevoss-operated crypto exchange, would serve as custodian, holding the trust's ZEC in cold storage.
Winklevoss Capital Fund has indicated a non-binding interest in purchasing up to $100 million of shares in the offering. Cypherpunk Technologies, a Winklevoss-backed Zcash treasury company, would serve as an Zcash Ecosystem Partner to advise on protocol matters and cryptocurrency holder voting.
The filing arrives amid increased institutional interest in Zcash, a privacy coin that uses cryptography called zk-SNARKs to shield transaction senders, recipients, and amounts. Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF in August and moved to split its shares, while 21Shares launched Europe's first Zcash exchange-traded product.
The registration statement acknowledges significant risks, including ZEC's extreme volatility and privacy coins' unique vulnerabilities. The filing specifically references a soundness bug discovered this year in Zcash's Orchard shielded pool, which caused ZEC to decline roughly 50% before the network deployed the Ironwood upgrade to patch the issue.
SEC approval remains required before trading can begin. Like all spot crypto ETFs, the fund would track a highly volatile asset, exposing investors to substantial potential gains or losses.
