Winklevoss files for spot Zcash ETF as ZEC price climbs above $1,376

Winklevoss Asset Services has filed for a Nasdaq-listed spot Zcash ETF under the proposed ticker WINK, as ZEC has gained more than 5% in 24 hours and is trading above $1,376.

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Winklevoss Asset Services has filed for a Nasdaq-listed spot Zcash ETF under the proposed ticker WINK, as ZEC has gained more than 5% in 24 hours and is trading above $1,376.

Summary

• WINK would hold ZEC directly, with Gemini Trust Company serving as the fund’s custodian.
• Authorized participants would use cash to create and redeem shares under the proposed structure.
• Grayscale’s existing Zcash ETF recorded $93.56 million in withdrawals during the week ended Oct. 2.
• Developers have scheduled an Oct. 20 decision on NU7’s proposed November mainnet activation.

Winklevoss Asset Services filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 6, proposing a fund backed by Zcash tokens held by Gemini Trust Company.

Under the proposal, the Winklevoss Zcash ETF would list on Nasdaq as WINK once the required regulatory clearance is in place. The registration describes direct ownership of ZEC rather than exposure through futures contracts or other derivatives.

Spot Zcash ETF would use cash for share transactions

According to the filing, authorized participants would deliver cash when creating new ETF shares and receive cash when redeeming them. The proposed arrangement would not require those participants to transfer ZEC into the fund or accept tokens when withdrawing their investment.

For new share creations, the filing describes ZEC purchases using the cash contributed by authorized participants. Gemini would hold the cryptocurrency backing the shares, placing token custody with the named custodian while participants conduct their transactions in dollars.

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The cash model therefore separates the participants’ share transactions from the handling of the underlying cryptocurrency, as described in the registration. The fund would still own ZEC directly, even though participants would settle creations and redemptions without taking delivery of the asset.

For American investors, the proposed Nasdaq listing would provide access through exchange-traded shares backed by ZEC. Under the filing’s structure, investors would purchase an interest in the fund rather than receive cryptocurrency in a personal wallet.

The proposal remains subject to regulatory clearance, and the Oct. 6 registration does not establish a trading launch date. Nasdaq and WINK are the intended exchange and ticker identified in the application.

Existing U.S. Zcash fund has already recorded redemptions

The application follows Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF launch, which crypto.news covered on Aug. 27. According to that report, Grayscale converted its nine-year-old Zcash Trust into an exchange-traded product on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25 under the ticker ZCSH.

The August coverage put the fund’s assets at approximately $304 million at launch and identified Coinbase as the custodian. It also reported a 2.50% management fee, with the proceeds directed toward Zcash ecosystem development.

More recently, an Oct. 4 report documented weekly Zcash ETF withdrawals totaling $93.56 million for the week ended Oct. 2. Citing SoSoValue, the report identified the period as ZCSH’s first negative week since late August.

According to the same dataset, daily net outflows reached $30.25 million on Sep. 30 and $26.93 million on Oct. 2. Total net assets stood at approximately $751 million, while cumulative net inflows remained positive at about $212.56 million.

The Oct. 4 coverage also cited CoinGecko historical prices showing ZEC closing at $1,653.12 on Sep. 26 and $1,304.32 on Oct. 3. Separately, Grayscale’s filing recorded a three-for-one ZCSH share split on Sep. 30, increasing outstanding shares from 7,989,300 to 23,967,900 without changing the total value of investors’ holdings.

Cypherpunk’s proposed role follows a $33.33 million mining deal

The Winklevoss registration also names Cypherpunk Technologies as a partner for Zcash network services. The filing places Gemini in the custody role, while identifying Cypherpunk separately for its involvement with the network.

Cypherpunk had already expanded its Zcash operations through a Zcash mining fleet purchase reported on Aug. 18. According to its announcement, the Nasdaq-listed company acquired equipment and hosting agreements from entities affiliated with Winklevoss Capital in a transaction valued at $33.33 million.

The company said the Bitmain Z15 Pro fleet operated at U.S. hosting facilities and represented roughly 18% of Zcash’s network computing power at the time. Its estimated monthly production was about 7,800 ZEC, subject to changes in mining difficulty and competing computing power.

An SEC filing cited in the August report described payment through a pre-funded warrant covering 43,290,042 common shares, rather than cash. The agreement valued Cypherpunk stock at $0.77 per share and set the warrant’s exercise price at $0.001 per share.

In the company announcement, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss said:

“Up until now, investors have had limited options for Zcash mining exposure.”

ZEC recovery precedes the Oct. 20 NU7 decision

CoinMarketCap figures cited in the supplied Oct. 6 report put ZEC slightly above $1,376 following a gain of more than 5% over 24 hours. The same report placed the overall cryptocurrency market’s increase at nearly 1% during that period.

The report described an advance from approximately $1,290–$1,300 toward $1,350, followed by a retreat into the $1,320 range before another rise toward $1,380. Its technical assessment identified resistance at $1,375–$1,380 and support at $1,355–$1,360, followed by $1,340–$1,345.

Separately, Sep. 18 coverage of the NU7 mainnet upgrade timetable cited developer Sean Bowe’s schedule for an Oct. 6 testnet activation and an Oct. 20 decision on the mainnet activation height. The proposed Nov. 5 launch remains conditional on the developers’ review of testnet performance.

According to the technical proposal described in that report, NU7 would reduce target block spacing from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The design would preserve daily ZEC issuance by reducing the subsidy paid for each block.

Bowe’s update said the upgrade would not introduce a new transaction format, although full nodes, indexers, and block explorers could require changes for the revised consensus rules. The planned package would also disable version 4 transactions at activation, preventing further spending from the legacy Sprout pool because version 5 transactions do not support it.

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