Grayscale Investments continues to actively promote its line of cryptocurrency products to the regulated U.S. market. This time, the company has submitted an updated application to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert its existing Zcash Trust into a full-fledged exchange-traded fund. If the regulator gives the green light, this product would become the first ETF in the United States to directly track the price of ZEC.
Key parameters of the new fund
In the latest revision of the document, the trust has been officially renamed The Zcash ETF. The sponsor fee is set at 2.5% per annum — noticeably higher than the market average, but typical for niche crypto ETFs, given the complexity of custody and operational costs. The listing is planned on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker ZCH, providing direct access to the asset for institutional and retail investors within traditional infrastructure.
Coinbase Custody Trust Company serves as the custodial partner, having already established itself as a reliable custodian of digital assets for major issuers. Bank of New York Mellon — one of the oldest and most reputable banks in the world — has been appointed as the transfer agent, adding an additional layer of trust to the product's structure.
Analytical perspective
This move by Grayscale is not merely a formality, but a signal of the growing maturity of the privacy cryptocurrency market. Zcash, with its zk-SNARKs technology, remains one of the few assets that combines functionality and anonymity, and its appearance in ETF format could attract a new wave of institutional capital that previously avoided direct investments in coins with heightened regulatory risks.
Nevertheless, the 2.5% fee appears somewhat inflated compared to competitors like bitcoin ETFs, where fees do not exceed 1%. This could become a deterrent for long-term investors, although for a niche product with limited liquidity, such a premium is justified. Overall, if the SEC approves the application, we will see a precedent that opens the door for other privacy coins, but the path to a final decision will likely take several more months.