Key Takeaways
- Winklevoss Asset Services filed an SEC S-1 on Oct. 6 to launch a spot zcash ETF under the ticker WINK.
- The fund directly challenges Grayscale’s zcash product, expanding institutional access to privacy coins.
- Winklevoss Capital plans to buy up to $100M in shares as the SEC reviews the proposed Nasdaq listing.
Taking on Grayscale
Winklevoss Asset Services, led by CEO Cameron Winklevoss, submitted a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the Winklevoss Zcash ETF. If approved, the proposed exchange-traded product will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “WINK.”
The proposed zcash ETF marks a major milestone in Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’s years-long shilling of the privacy coin into mainstream Wall Street finance, extending their institutional crypto strategy beyond bitcoin and ether. By filing for the spot ZEC fund, Winklevoss Asset Services directly challenges rival digital asset manager Grayscale, setting up a high-stakes battle for institutional dominance in privacy coins following the August launch of Grayscale’s own zcash product.
According to the filing, the trust’s primary investment objective is to offer public investors direct price exposure to zcash minus operational trust expenses. Unlike synthetic or derivative products, the exchange-traded fund will hold ZEC.
Winklevoss Asset Services, an entity wholly owned by Winklevoss Asset Services Holdings, will serve as the sponsor, with CSC Delaware Trust Company serving as the trustee. Gemini Trust, an affiliate of the sponsor, will hold all the fund’s ZEC holdings in segregated cold storage.
The trust will operate a cash-based creation and redemption structure for authorized participants. These participants will deposit cash to subscribe for the creation of baskets of shares, which the trust will use to purchase ZEC, and receive cash proceeds upon redeeming shares.
Ecosystem Advisory and Seed Interest
It has also established an agreement with Cypherpunk Technologies—a crypto treasury firm that holds about $440 million worth of ZEC—to serve as the “Zcash Ecosystem Partner.” Cypherpunk will deliver technical guidance, advisory services, and facilitate coinholder polling and voting on protocol developments.
Winklevoss Capital Fund, another affiliate of the sponsor, has indicated nonbinding interest in purchasing up to $100 million in shares from authorized participants or secondary market channels upon launch.
The registration statement covers an indeterminate number of shares offered continuously under Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933. The trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and will not operate as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated commodity pool.
The offering remains subject to SEC review and market effectiveness before trading can commence on Nasdaq.
