Zcash (ZEC) quotes have shown an impressive surge, reaching their highest levels in eight years. The main catalyst for this movement was the intensified efforts by Grayscale Investments to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on this crypto asset. The company has filed a fifth revised application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for product registration.
An analysis of the documents shows that Grayscale is consistently approaching the final stage. In the fourth version of the application, filed last week, key parameters remained undisclosed — the fee amount and the fund's name. The fifth revision closed these gaps. According to updated data, the management company will set an annual fee of 2.5% of the trust's net asset value, accrued daily.
The product itself will be renamed The Zcash ETF. Trading in the fund's shares is planned to open on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker ZCSH. The documentation emphasizes that, although investments in the fund's shares are not a direct investment in ZEC, they are designed to provide investors with simple and relatively inexpensive access to the token's price dynamics.
Infrastructure and Commitments
Coinbase Custody Trust Company will act as the custodian for holding the underlying asset. Bank of New York Mellon will take on the functions of transfer agent and administrator. Notably, Grayscale has taken on a voluntary commitment to direct the entire amount of fee collections to marketing and product development during the first 12 months. It is important to understand that this is not a strict regulatory requirement, and the company may reconsider this decision at any time.
Recovery After the Decline
The application was filed against a backdrop of generally positive market sentiment, but it was ZEC that became the undisputed leader in growth. Over the past 24 hours, the asset's price jumped by 34%, marking the best result among the top-100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. On Saturday, the token surpassed the $800 mark for the first time since January 2018. During the day, the price reached $857, followed by some correction to around $784.
Notably, the 2018 peak around $800 had long served as insurmountable resistance for Zcash. The current growth looks even more impressive against the backdrop of the June crash, when quotes lost about half of their value due to the disclosure of information about a vulnerability in one of the network's protected pools. The issue was resolved with an emergency update, and now the market, it seems, is ready to reassess the asset.
My view: The ZEC movement is a classic example of how institutional interest can change the fate of an asset that has long been in the shadows overnight. If the SEC approves the product, it will become the first such ETF in the U.S. directly tracking the Zcash price, which could pave the way for a new influx of capital. However, given the volatility and history of ZEC, investors should remain cautious and remember the fundamental difference between current prices and the all-time high of $3191 recorded in 2016.