Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Winklevoss Asset Services has submitted a preliminary S-1 filing to the SEC for a spot Zcash ETF.
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The proposed fund would hold ZEC directly and list on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK.
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Gemini Trust Company would serve as custodian, with an annual sponsor fee of 0.25%.
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Winklevoss Capital Fund has expressed nonbinding interest in purchasing up to $100 million in shares.
Winklevoss Asset Services has filed a preliminary registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Zcash exchange-traded fund.
The proposed ETF would hold ZEC directly and seek a Nasdaq listing under the ticker WINK. The filing represents another step in Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ longstanding involvement with the Zcash ecosystem.
The submission is a proposal and does not establish that the fund has received regulatory approval or a confirmed launch date.
Proposed Zcash ETF Sets Annual Fee at 0.25%
Under the proposed structure, Gemini Trust Company would custody the fund’s ZEC holdings.
The ETF would charge an annual sponsor fee of 0.25%, with the sponsor covering ordinary operating expenses.
Winklevoss Asset Services, a newly formed entity wholly owned by Winklevoss Asset Services Holdings, would sponsor the fund.
The trust has also entered into an agreement with Cypherpunk Technologies to act as its Zcash ecosystem partner. Its responsibilities would include assistance with protocol development matters and coinholder polling.
Winklevoss Capital Fund has indicated that it may purchase up to $100 million of the ETF’s shares.
However, the indication is nonbinding and does not guarantee that an investment will take place.
The filing comes 13 years after the Winklevoss twins submitted their first proposal for a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC rejected that application in 2017 over concerns about Bitcoin price manipulation.
Their latest proposal extends those ETF ambitions to Zcash, an asset they have supported through trading infrastructure, investment, and development funding.
Filing Builds on Longstanding Zcash Involvement
Gemini became the first licensed exchange to offer Zcash trading and custody, according to the report.
Winklevoss-backed entities have also accumulated substantial ZEC holdings. A $29 million purchase by Cypherpunk brought its holdings to nearly 2% of Zcash’s circulating supply.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss separately donated $1.2 million worth of ZEC to Shielded Labs, an independent organization supporting Zcash development.
Those activities provide the backdrop for the proposed ETF and its agreement with Cypherpunk Technologies.
Grayscale and Bitwise Shape the Competitive Landscape
The proposed WINK fund would join a developing market for Zcash investment products.
Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, which began trading in August, is currently the only live U.S. spot ZEC ETF, according to the report.
The fund attracted more than $233 million in inflows and reached nearly $890 million in net assets less than a month after launch. That growth prompted a three-for-one share split.
Bitwise has also filed for a Zcash ETF, adding another prospective competitor.
For Winklevoss Asset Services, the preliminary filing establishes its proposed fund structure, custody arrangements, and fees. Whether WINK reaches the market will depend on the regulatory process.
