Grayscale Filed For The Worlds First Ever Spot ETF For A Privacy Coin

Grayscale Pushes Into Privacy Coin Territory With Zcash ETF Filing

Grayscale has filed to convert its Zcash Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund, a move that would create the world's first regulated spot ETF tied to a privacy coin. The firm filed an S-3 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking to convert its existing Zcash Trust into a spot ETF. With approximately $199 million in assets under management at the time of filing, the proposed fund is set to trade under the ticker ZCSH on NYSE Arca.

The move mirrors Grayscale's earlier conversions of other single-asset trusts, including the Bitcoin Trust, into ETFs. According to the preliminary prospectus, the Zcash ETF would be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH. Coinbase Custody will serve as the custodian, while Bank of New York Mellon will act as the transfer agent and administrator for the fund.

If approved, the fund would be the first-ever regulated spot ETF for a privacy-preserving crypto. The SEC's timeline for approving such conversions varies, with some filings taking months and others more than a year. While past approvals, such as the Dogecoin Trust conversion, were completed in roughly three months, there is no guarantee of timing for the Zcash ETF.

Regulatory Tailwind and Institutional Accumulation

The filing benefits from a notably more permissive regulatory environment. The SEC closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation without recommending any enforcement action, removing a key overhang for the asset class. Grayscale's plans to convert the Zcash Trust into an ETF come as the U.S. regulatory posture begins to shift under the Trump administration.

Institutional interest has grown alongside the regulatory shift. The price surge came as Multicoin Capital disclosed it had been building a significant $ZEC position since February. According to reports, the hedge fund views Zcash as a macro hedge opportunity. Multicoin co-founder and managing partner Tushar Jain linked the purchase to a view that private stores of value will matter more as finance moves on-chain. "We believe that truly private, censorship and seizure-resistant assets have clear product-market fit and demand is accelerating," Jain said. "We believe Zcash is the cleanest way to express this thesis in public markets."

Zcash's compliance-friendly design has also helped its institutional case. The fund would offer regulated exposure to Zcash, a privacy-centric cryptocurrency built to enable secure transactions with optional disclosure features on its blockchain. That positioning helped Zcash surpass Monero in market capitalisation, making it the largest privacy-focused cryptocurrency.

Sources:
CoinDesk: Grayscale Files to List First Zcash ETF in the U.S.
CoinDesk: Multicoin Goes Big on Zcash as Privacy Trade Returns
Decrypt: Zcash Leads Privacy Coin Surge With 37% Gains on Multicoin Investment