Grayscale has filed to convert its Grayscale Zcash Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund, a move that would mark the first spot ETF tied to a privacy coin if the product is approved and listed.
The proposed product would hold ZEC, the native asset of the Zcash network, and is designed to give investors exchange-traded exposure to the asset without requiring direct custody. The filing says the trust intends to list its shares on NYSE Arca under the ticker “ZCSH” and, in connection with the registration becoming effective and the listing, rename the product Grayscale Zcash Trust ETF.
The filing places Zcash in a new category within the U.S. spot crypto ETF race. Spot Bitcoin ETFs and spot Ether ETFs opened the door for regulated exchange-traded exposure to large crypto assets, but a Zcash ETF would test whether that wrapper can extend to a privacy-focused asset whose core identity is built around selective transaction privacy.
Filing Sets Out ZEC Exposure, NYSE Arca Listing Plan
In the registration statement, Grayscale describes the trust as a Delaware statutory trust that issues shares representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in the vehicle. The filing names Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC as sponsor, CSC Delaware Trust Company as trustee, The Bank of New York Mellon as transfer agent and administrator, Coinbase, Inc. as prime broker, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC as custodian.
The registration statement states: “The Trust’s purpose is to hold ‘ZEC’, which are digital assets that are created and transmitted through the operations of the peer-to-peer Zcash Network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. The Trust’s investment objective is for the value of the Shares (based on ZEC per Share) to reflect the value of ZEC held by the Trust, as determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities.”
The filing also makes clear that the shares are intended as an investment product rather than direct ownership of ZEC. “While an investment in the Shares is not a direct investment in ZEC, the Shares are designed to provide investors with a cost-effective and convenient way to gain investment exposure to ZEC. Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC is the sponsor of the Trust.”
The trust expects to issue shares on a continuous basis and register an indeterminate number of shares. Creations and redemptions are expected to occur in blocks of 10,000 shares, referred to in the filing as baskets. As of Nov. 21, 2025, the filing says approximately 817.0998 ZEC were required to create one basket of 10,000 shares.
For now, the trust says it can process cash orders, where an authorized participant deposits or receives cash and a third-party liquidity provider obtains or receives ZEC. The filing says the trust is not currently able to create and redeem shares through in-kind transactions with authorized participants, though NYSE Arca may later seek regulatory approval to permit that structure.
In its latest quarterly filing, the trust said it held 391,103.88769118 ZEC (worth approximately $99.45 million) as of March 31, 2026, compared with 393,522.33134026 ZEC at the end of 2025. The filing valued ZEC at $254.27 per token at quarter-end, using Coinbase as the trust’s principal market for fair value purposes.
Regulatory Overhang Around Zcash Has Eased
The filing lands after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concluded its review of the Zcash Foundation without recommending enforcement action or other changes. That development removed a long-running regulatory overhang around one of the crypto sector’s best-known privacy-focused networks.
The Zcash Foundation said in its notice: “We are pleased to announce that the SEC has concluded its review and informed us that it does not intend to recommend any enforcement action or other changes against Zcash Foundation regarding this matter. This outcome reflects our commitment to transparency and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Zcash Foundation remains focused on advancing privacy-preserving financial infrastructure for the public good.”
The absence of an enforcement recommendation does not itself approve a Zcash ETF. But it changes the context in which Grayscale is attempting to bring a privacy-coin product into the regulated ETF market.
Multicoin Discloses ZEC Position
The ETF filing also arrives as ZEC has drawn fresh attention from crypto-native investors. As reported last week, Tushar Jain, co-founder of crypto hedge fund Multicoin Capital, disclosed on X that Multicoin has built a significant ZEC position since February, framing the asset as a return to crypto’s cypherpunk roots and as a hedge against potential state seizure of wealth.
Jain’s comments are material because Multicoin has a disclosed financial interest in ZEC. “Multicoin has built a significant position in $ZEC since February,” he wrote. “Zcash is a return to the cypherpunk ideals crypto was founded on.”
In a later post, Jain connected the investment thesis to broader political and macro concerns. “California’s proposed wealth seizures are a warning. As the political trend to seize private wealth continues to grow, people and institutions will increasingly seek private assets to protect themselves.”
He also contrasted ZEC with Bitcoin in the context of financial privacy and asset seizure risk. “Bitcoin is censorship-resistant, no one can freeze your BTC or stop you from using it. But that doesn’t stop the state from seizing known holdings through wealth taxes. We believe that truly private, censorship and seizure resistant assets have clear product-market fit and demand is accelerating.”
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.