Winklevoss Targets Nasdaq With New ZEC ETF Filing

Winklevoss Asset Services submitted an S-1 registration statement to the SEC on October 6, 2026, for a proposed spot Zcash ETF that would hold ZEC directly and seek to trade on Nasdaq under the WINK ticker.

The application remains at an early stage. The prospectus states that the information could be amended and that WINK shares cannot be sold until the registration statement becomes effective.

The proposed fund would have a 0.25% annual sponsor fee and would appoint Gemini Trust Company as its custodian. WINK would not use leverage or derivatives. Affiliates of Winklevoss Capital Fund have also indicated interest in buying up to $100 million of the ETF’s shares, although that indication is explicitly nonbinding.

The announcement came while ZEC was trading near $1,315, representing a decline of almost 3% over 24 hours. Daily trading volume was around $679 million, while ZEC remained 11% higher over the previous 30 days. The proposed ETF has added another potential catalyst to the recent Zcash rally.

WINK Would Bring ZEC Exposure to Traditional Brokerage Accounts

The trust would seek to track the value of the ZEC it holds, after accounting for operating costs and other liabilities. If the ETF is approved, investors could gain exposure to Zcash through a conventional brokerage account without directly purchasing or taking custody of the cryptocurrency.

The underlying exposure would nevertheless remain direct. The filing says the trust would own ZEC and would not employ derivatives or leverage in pursuing its investment objective.

Investors would still be exposed to the cryptocurrency’s price fluctuations. WINK shares could also trade at a premium or discount to the trust’s net asset value once they are listed and begin trading.

Winklevoss Asset Services would act as sponsor, with affiliate Gemini Trust Company responsible for holding the fund’s ZEC. The proposed 0.25% annual sponsor fee is a key component of the structure, although it does not guarantee that WINK will attract significant capital or outperform competing products.

The S-1 says Winklevoss Capital Fund, through one or more affiliates, has expressed interest in purchasing up to $100 million of shares. Those purchases could be made through authorized participants or on the secondary market. However, the indication does not represent a binding commitment, so the affiliates could purchase more, less, or none of the stated amount.

WINK would enter a U.S. market where Grayscale’s Zcash ETF, ZCSH, is already trading. The primary report also said Grayscale had recently announced a 3-for-1 share split.

It also reported that ZEC had gained more than 735% over the previous year and was trading around $1,354 on Tuesday, October 6, with a market capitalization of approximately $23 billion. Those numbers reflect the market at that time rather than a current ZEC price.

Investors Could Access ZEC Without Managing the Asset

Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to support shielded transactions that can obscure transaction amounts and the identities of senders and recipients. WINK would allow investors using brokerage accounts to gain exposure to ZEC without directly interacting with those privacy features or handling the cryptocurrency themselves.

The proposed structure would place all of the trust’s ZEC with Gemini Trust Company, while CSC Delaware Trust Company would serve as trustee.

The filing also identifies Cypherpunk Technologies as a Zcash Ecosystem Partner. Its potential responsibilities include coinholder polling and offering guidance related to Zcash’s protocol and technical development.

Custody remains a central element of institutional crypto products because the underlying asset must be securely held to support the investment exposure offered to shareholders. Since the WINK filing is preliminary, several operational details could still change as the SEC review process develops.