Zcash (ZEC) has demonstrated an impressive surge, reaching price levels not seen in the past eight years. The reason for such rapid growth was the intensification of Grayscale Investments' efforts to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on this anonymous token.
The fifth edition of the S-3 filing, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), closed key gaps in previous versions. Unlike the fourth iteration of the document, where the management company did not disclose details, we now see specific parameters for the future product. The management fee will be 2.5% per annum of the trust's net asset value, accrued daily. This is a fairly high bar, typical for niche crypto ETFs at an early stage.
The trust itself will be renamed The Zcash ETF, and its shares will begin trading on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker ZCSH. The documentation emphasizes that the fund's securities are not a direct investment in ZEC but provide investors with convenient and relatively inexpensive access to the token's price dynamics. Asset custody will be handled by Coinbase Custody Trust Company, while transfer agent and administrator functions will be taken on by Bank of New York Mellon.
Notably, Grayscale has voluntarily committed to directing all commission revenue to marketing and product development for 12 months. However, this promise is not a strict regulatory requirement, and the company may abandon it at any time. The SEC's final decision has not yet been made, but the very fact of submitting such a detailed filing indicates a high likelihood of approval.
Zcash — the undisputed leader of weekly growth
The market reacted instantly. Over the past 24 hours, the ZEC price surged by 34%, marking the best result among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. On Saturday, the token broke through the $800 mark for the first time since January 2018, reaching an intraday peak of $857, before correcting to around $784.
This breakthrough is especially significant against the historical context. The 2018 peak around $800 had long served as an insurmountable ceiling for Zcash. The current high is still far from the all-time record of $3191, recorded in October 2016, but the direction of movement is obvious.
It is important to recall that the June drop in quotes, when ZEC lost about half of its value due to the disclosure of a vulnerability in one of the network's protected pools, now looks like an excellent entry point for long-term investors. The emergency update resolved the issue, and the market seems ready to forget about that episode.
My analysis: The submission of the fifth edition of the filing is not just a formality. Grayscale is consistently closing all technical details, which indicates real preparation for launch, not a speculative PR move. If the SEC approves the product, Zcash will become one of the few anonymous assets with an exchange-traded fund in the U.S., which could radically change the perception of the token among institutional investors. However, the current overbought condition after such a sharp jump requires caution — a correction after such moves is inevitable.