Winklevoss Asset Services, LLC filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on October 6, 2026, seeking approval for a spot Zcash ETF that would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK.

The proposed fund would hold ZEC, the native token of the Zcash network, directly rather than through futures contracts or other derivatives. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the founders of Gemini, are behind the filing.

What does the filing cover?

The registration statement outlines a cash-create and cash-redeem model for authorized participants. Under that structure, participating firms deliver dollars rather than tokens when new shares are created, and the fund itself purchases the underlying ZEC.

Custody would sit with Gemini Trust Company, LLC, the twins' own crypto firm. The filing also discloses a partnership with Cypherpunk Technologies for Zcash network-related services.

The Winklevoss filing does not yet specify a management fee.

Who got there first?

Grayscale holds the early lead. Its Zcash ETF, ticker ZCSH, launched on NYSE Arca on August 25, 2026 and became the first US spot ETF for Zcash. The fund attracted more than $500 million in assets under management within roughly two weeks of launch.

Grayscale charges a 2.5% management fee on ZCSH. That figure gives the Winklevoss team an obvious competitive target when it discloses its own pricing.

Why is a spot Zcash ETF possible now?

In January 2026, the SEC concluded a review of Zcash-related matters without taking enforcement action. That outcome removed a significant regulatory cloud and opened the door for products like ZCSH.

Gemini, for its part, has offered custody support for ZEC since 2018, along with trading support for the asset. That operating history, combined with the Cypherpunk Technologies partnership, gives the Winklevoss effort a story about ecosystem depth.

What could complicate approval?

An S-1 filing is a starting point, not an approval. The structure also carries a potential conflict-of-interest question: the fund sponsor's affiliated company, Gemini Trust Company, would serve as custodian. Regulators and market observers may scrutinize how conflicts are managed when the issuer and the vault share a family tree.

The SEC's review clock now determines the timeline. WINK's prospects hinge on how the commission treats the affiliated-custody arrangement and whether the post-review environment for Zcash products holds through the approval process.