The Winklevoss Zcash ETF landed at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 6, 2026, when Winklevoss Asset Services, LLC filed a Form S-1 to launch what would be the second spot Zcash exchange-traded fund in the United States.
The filing paints a complete picture of the proposed product: a Nasdaq listing under ticker WINK, a 0.25% annual sponsor fee accrued daily in ZEC, Gemini Trust Company as custodian and cash-only creation and redemption for authorized participants. ZEC was trading in the $1,317–$1,376 range around the filing, with a market value above $20 billion and a 5% bounce in the sessions around it.
Winklevoss Zcash ETF: The Terms on Paper
The highlights from the S-1:
- Sponsor: Winklevoss Asset Services, LLC, a Delaware entity formed October 1, 2026, led by CEO Cameron Winklevoss.
- Trust: a Delaware Statutory Trust formed October 6, the same day as the filing.
- Listing: Nasdaq, ticker WINK, subject to SEC effectiveness.
- Fee: 0.25% per year, accrued daily and paid in ZEC — the fund pays its bills in the very asset it holds.
- Custody: Gemini Trust Company, an affiliate of the sponsor, holding ZEC in segregated cold storage.
- Structure: shares backed directly by ZEC, with cash-only creations — no in-kind transfers.
- Strategic partner: Cypherpunk Technologies Inc., named in the filing.
A Very Crowded Race for a Not-So-Crowded Corner
Winklevoss is not first to the window. Grayscale’s Zcash ETF (ZCSH) began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25, 2026, making this filing the second U.S. bid for spot ZEC. Privacy coins spent years as the uninvited cousins at the ETF table; now the fight is over who gets the seat next to it.
The competitive math is straightforward: two issuers, one asset class, and a fee war waiting to start at 0.25%. Grayscale has the first-mover cushion; Winklevoss has a low headline fee and an exchange partner in Nasdaq.
Why the Filing Matters Now
Zcash has spent 2026 converting from a privacy-token curiosity into an institutional talking point, and a second spot ETF filing is the loudest version of that argument yet. If the SEC declares the S-1 effective, investors get a second regulated on-ramp to ZEC — and the privacy-asset category gets a second exchange listing to point at.
One caveat before anyone books the launch party: this is a "subject to completion" draft. Final terms, seed funding and the listing date remain placeholders until amendments land and the SEC declares the filing effective. The Winklevoss Zcash ETF is a real filing with real terms — it is just not a real tradeable fund yet.
