Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have filed a preliminary S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Zcash ETF that would list on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK and charge a 0.25% annual sponsor fee, one-tenth of what Grayscale's rival product costs.

The filing, submitted on October 6, 2026, came from Winklevoss Asset Services, a newly formed issuer. The twins promoted the proposal on stage at Token2049 in Singapore on October 7, where Tyler Winklevoss argued that privacy is becoming an increasingly valuable property in digital assets.

Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to keep transaction details off public view. The Winklevoss connection to the asset predates the filing: the twins were early ZEC adopters, and their exchange Gemini was the first licensed platform to offer ZEC trading.

What would the WINK fund look like?

The proposed structure keeps the product squarely inside the twins' orbit:

• Structure: spot ETF holding ZEC directly, with no futures or derivatives exposure
• Listing: Nasdaq, ticker WINK
• Sponsor fee: 0.25% per year
• Custodian: Gemini Trust Company, a Winklevoss affiliate, holding ZEC in cold storage
• Ecosystem partner: Cypherpunk Technologies, named in the filing to support protocol information and coinholder voting
• Anchor interest: Winklevoss Capital Fund has expressed non-binding interest in buying up to $100 million of shares post-launch

The fee gap against the incumbent is material. On a hypothetical $10,000 position held for one year, WINK's 0.25% fee costs $25. Grayscale's ZCSH, at 2.5%, costs $250 on the same position.

How does the filing fit the competitive field?

The Winklevoss proposal is the third US filing for a spot Zcash ETF. Grayscale got there first: ZCSH launched on August 25, 2026, drew over $233 million in inflows in its first month, and held nearly $890 million in assets. ZEC itself has performed strongly in 2026 amid rising interest in privacy-focused assets.

The competitive setup points toward a potential fee war. Grayscale holds the head start and the asset base. The Winklevoss fund, if approved, would compete primarily on cost.

The structure also carries concentration risk that investors will need to weigh. The sponsor, the custodian and a potential anchor buyer all sit within the twins' corporate orbit, which ties the fund's operational integrity to a single family of entities.

What happens before any shares trade?

A preliminary S-1 is an opening move, not a launch. The document starts the registration process; it does not finish it. Amendments, SEC questions and exchange listing steps typically follow before any product reaches the market.

The $100 million expression of interest from Winklevoss Capital is a signal rather than a guarantee. Non-binding interest can change or lapse, and it does not establish day-one demand from outside investors.

The SEC's review window now governs the timeline. Until the commission clears the registration and Nasdaq approves the listing, WINK remains a filing on paper, and Grayscale keeps the spot Zcash ETF market to itself.