Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Zcash exchange-traded fund, a move that would give investors brokerage-based exposure to the privacy coin without requiring them to buy and store ZEC themselves.
A proposed spot fund tied directly to ZEC
According to an S-1 registration statement filed Monday, the proposed Winklevoss Zcash ETF would hold ZEC directly and aim to track the token’s price. The fund is slated to list on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK and carry a 0.25% sponsor fee.
The structure would let investors access Zcash through a traditional brokerage account rather than handling wallet storage and token custody on their own.
Gemini named as custodian
The filing says Gemini, the twins’ crypto exchange, would serve as custodian for the trust. The exchange would hold the fund’s ZEC in cold storage.
It also says Winklevoss Capital Fund has indicated an interest in purchasing up to $100 million of shares in the offering. The registration statement adds that this is a non-binding commitment.
Cypherpunk Technologies to advise on protocol matters
The trust has also appointed Cypherpunk Technologies as its “Zcash Ecosystem Partner.” In that role, the company would advise on protocol-related matters and coinholder voting. The filing describes Cypherpunk Technologies as a Winklevoss-backed Zcash treasury company.
Zcash’s rebound forms the backdrop
The filing comes during a strong recovery for Zcash. The privacy-focused asset uses zk-SNARKs cryptography to shield the sender, recipient, and amount of a transaction.
Decrypt said ZEC, after spending years under regulatory pressure, has climbed back into the upper ranks of digital assets this year. The report links that shift to rising concern over financial surveillance and a broader wave of institutional product packaging around the asset.
Recent products have added to that momentum. Decrypt noted that Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF in August and later sought to split its shares, while 21Shares listed Europe’s first Zcash exchange-traded product.
If approved, WINK would add one of the crypto industry’s best-known twin founders to that institutional push.
Filing points to volatility and protocol risk
The registration statement also spells out the risks. It flags ZEC’s extreme volatility and the distinct vulnerabilities associated with privacy coins.
Among the examples cited is the soundness bug found this year in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool. The filing says the issue briefly pushed ZEC down by roughly 50% before the network addressed it through the Ironwood upgrade.
SEC approval is still required
The application remains at an early stage. Trading cannot begin unless the SEC signs off on the fund.
Like other spot crypto ETFs, the proposed product would track a highly volatile asset. Decrypt said the coin has surged more than 2,000% over the past year, leaving investors exposed to the possibility of large gains as well as steep losses.