Winklevoss twins file for spot Zcash ETF with 0.25% fee

Winklevoss Asset Services has filed a Form S-1 with the SEC to launch the WINK ETF, a spot Zcash fund on Nasdaq with a 0.25% fee. The filing marks a major step for Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, coming 13 years after their initial spot Bitcoin ETF bid. The fund will hold ZEC directly with Gemini as custodian and Cypherpunk Technologies as ecosystem partner. Following the announcement, ZEC surged past $1,350, positioning the fund to compete with Grayscale's established ZCSH ETF.

Details of the WINK ETF proposal

• ▪The proposed WINK ETF, filed by Winklevoss Asset Services, would hold ZEC directly, charge a 0.25% annual sponsor fee, and use Gemini Trust Company as its custodian to keep the coins in segregated cold storage
• ▪Winklevoss Asset Services filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. SEC on October 6, 2026, to launch the WINK ETF, a spot Zcash ETF, on Nasdaq
• ▪Winklevoss Capital Fund has indicated a non-binding interest in purchasing up to $100 million of shares in WINK, the proposed spot Zcash ETF

ZEC market performance

• ▪Zcash's native token ZEC experienced a strong recovery from its summer decline to become one of the best-performing crypto assets of 2026
• ▪Following the WINK ETF filing by Winklevoss Asset Services on October 6, 2026, the price of Zcash's native token ZEC rallied above 5%, trading near $1,350

Cypherpunk Technologies' role and background

• ▪Cypherpunk Technologies has accumulated 290,062 ZEC, worth roughly $152 million, representing approximately 1.76% of Zcash's circulating supply, with a long-term goal of holding at least 5%
• ▪The WINK ETF filing by Winklevoss Asset Services names Cypherpunk Technologies as its Zcash Ecosystem Partner to assist with protocol development, coinholder polling, and voting
• ▪Winklevoss Capital led a $58.88 million private placement last October in Leap Therapeutics, the biotechnology company that later renamed itself Cypherpunk Technologies

Orchard pool cryptographic bug

• ▪An Orchard pool cryptographic bug discovered in late May 2026, which could have allowed counterfeit ZEC to be minted, was identified by a Shielded Labs researcher
• ▪The WINK ETF filing by Winklevoss Asset Services details an Orchard pool cryptographic bug identified in late May 2026 and patched in June 2026, noting there is no cryptographic method to prove if it was exploited

Competition in the Zcash ETF market

• ▪Bitwise has also filed for a Zcash ETF, setting up further competition in the spot Zcash exchange-traded fund market
• ▪The Grayscale Zcash ETF (ZCSH) began trading on NYSE Arca on August 25, 2026, and accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in net assets within its first month of trading

Winklevoss twins' history in cryptocurrency

• ▪Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed one of the first proposals for a spot Bitcoin ETF in July 2013, which the U.S. SEC ultimately disapproved in March 2017
• ▪Gemini became the first licensed exchange to offer Zcash trading and custody, and the Winklevoss twins donated $1.2 million worth of ZEC to the independent development organization Shielded Labs

Debatable claims

• ▪The SEC should approve spot Zcash ETFs
• ▪Using Gemini as custodian for the WINK ETF creates an unacceptable conflict of interest
• ▪The unprovable Orchard pool bug makes Zcash too risky for institutional investment