The Winklevoss Zcash ETF filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 6, 2026, proposing a spot ZEC trust with a 0.25% annual sponsor fee—one-tenth of the 2.5% management fee charged by Grayscale's competing Zcash ETF.

The filing seeks a Nasdaq listing under the ticker WINK. The trust would hold ZEC directly, giving brokerage investors exposure to the token's price without managing private keys themselves.

Winklevoss Capital Fund, LLC has indicated interest in purchasing up to $100 million of shares through affiliates, according to the filing. The indication is explicitly nonbinding: the document states the potential buyers could purchase more, fewer or no shares.

How does WINK compare with existing Zcash products?

Grayscale's ZCSH listed on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25, 2026, after the firm's bid to convert its existing Zcash trust into a spot ETF. It reported $785.5 million in assets under management on a non-GAAP basis as of Oct. 5.

In Europe, Valour's Zcash SEK certificate listed on Sweden's Spotlight Stock Market on Sept. 29. The Swedish-krona-denominated product tracks ZEC at a 1.9% management fee.

The competitive picture across the three vehicles:

• WINK (proposed): Nasdaq, 0.25% sponsor fee, S-1 filed Oct. 6, 2026
• Grayscale ZCSH: NYSE Arca, 2.5% management fee, live since Aug. 25, 2026
• Valour Zcash SEK: Spotlight Stock Market, 1.9% management fee, live since Sept. 29, 2026

A 0.25% fee would position WINK at the aggressive end of crypto ETP pricing and pressure incumbents' margins if the SEC allows both products to trade side by side.

Who holds the coins and how are they valued?

Winklevoss Asset Services, LLC is the proposed fund's sponsor. Its affiliate Gemini Trust Company, LLC is named as custodian for all of the trust's ZEC, a vertically integrated structure that keeps sponsorship and custody within the Winklevoss-Gemini orbit.

The filing calls for segregated cold storage, with a carve-out allowing temporary balances in shared hot wallets for clearing and settlement.

Daily net asset value would draw on a benchmark built from executed ZEC trades on major trading platforms. The preliminary text describes a 60-minute time-weighted average but leaves blank the names of the benchmark, its provider and the underlying index—details that typically get filled in through amendments before effectiveness.

What happens next?

The prospectus remains preliminary. Shares cannot be sold until the registration statement becomes effective, and the S-1 has no assigned effectiveness date yet.

The filing now enters the SEC review window, during which the Commission can return comments and the sponsor can amend terms—including the fee, the NAV methodology and custodial arrangements. If WINK clears that process, Grayscale's ZCSH would face the first direct, low-cost spot ZEC competition in the U.S. market.