SEC Receives ETF Filing for Zcash from Winklevoss-Supported Fund Targeting Nasdaq
The investment vehicle plans to maintain direct ZEC holdings, utilizing Gemini Trust as its custody provider while entities linked to Winklevoss Capital consider a potential $100 million stake.
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to track the price performance of Zcash and backed by the Winklevoss brothers has submitted a registration statement to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to documents filed with regulators, the planned Winklevoss Zcash ETF intends to maintain direct holdings of ZEC and aims to secure a listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where it would trade under the ticker symbol WINK.
The fund would be sponsored by Winklevoss Asset Services, with custody responsibilities for the ETF's ZEC assets handled by its affiliate entity, Gemini Trust Company. Investors in the fund would pay an annual sponsor fee totaling 0.25%, and the investment vehicle would operate without utilizing leverage or derivative instruments to meet its stated investment objective.
Through one or more affiliated entities, Winklevoss Capital Fund has expressed potential interest in acquiring up to $100 million worth of shares in the planned ETF, although the filing made clear that this prospective investment does not constitute a binding commitment.
The proposed ETF would provide investors with an avenue to obtain exposure to Zcash through their conventional brokerage accounts, eliminating the need to directly purchase or maintain custody of the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency. The Zcash network employs zero-knowledge proofs as a technological foundation for shielded transactions, which have the capability to hide transaction values as well as the identities of both sending and receiving parties.
Should it receive approval, the Winklevoss fund would compete alongside Grayscale's Zcash ETF (ZCSH), which has already commenced trading operations in the United States. In recent developments, Grayscale publicly disclosed a 3-for-1 share split affecting the fund.
Over the previous 12-month period, ZEC has experienced a dramatic price surge exceeding 735%, elevating its total market capitalization to approximately $23 billion, based on data compiled by CoinGecko. As of Tuesday's trading session, the cryptocurrency was changing hands at around $1,354, securing its position as the 10th-largest cryptocurrency measured by market value.