Zcash surges 40% following Grayscale ETF filing

Zcash surged approximately 40% to surpass $800 on August 22, 2026, marking its highest price level since 2018. The rally was triggered by Grayscale filing its fifth SEC amendment to convert its $260 million Zcash Trust into the first U.S. spot Zcash ETF. Leveraged futures trading fueled the volatile move, with Friday volume hitting $4.55 billion. While the filing signals growing institutional interest in privacy-focused assets, the ETF remains subject to regulatory approval.

Zcash price surge

• ▪Zcash surged nearly 38% to more than $814 on Saturday, August 22, 2026, surpassing its January 2018 peak and reaching a market value of $13.87 billion
• ▪Zcash climbed more than 40% in a 24-hour window, touching a peak of $805.52 and breaking out of its mid-August 2026 trading range of $500 to $700
• ▪The price of Zcash swung 45% within a 24-hour period on August 22, 2026, trading as low as $589 and as high as $851

Grayscale Zcash ETF filing

• ▪The proposed Grayscale Zcash ETF would list on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCH, with an annual sponsor fee of 2.5%, Bank of New York Mellon as transfer agent, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company as custodian
• ▪Grayscale's Zcash Trust has operated since 2017 and held more than $260 million in assets under management as of Friday, August 21, 2026
• ▪Grayscale filed its fifth amendment with the SEC on Friday, August 21, 2026, to convert its existing Zcash Trust into a spot ETF named The Zcash ETF
• ▪Grayscale's fourth amendment filed on August 18, 2026, disclosed that Digital Currency Group subsidiary DCG International Investments is in non-binding talks to acquire roughly 200,000 ZEC through the trust

Privacy crypto institutional adoption

• ▪If approved by the SEC, Grayscale's proposed Zcash ETF would be the first exchange-traded fund in the United States to directly track ZEC
• ▪Multicoin Capital disclosed a significant Zcash position in May 2026, sparking a single-day price rally of over 30% based on the thesis that privacy is an underpriced digital asset feature

Zcash futures leverage trading

• ▪Zcash futures trading volume reached approximately $4.55 billion on Friday, August 21, 2026, compared to about $553 million in spot trading, with open interest near $1.35 billion
• ▪Zcash trading volume over a 24-hour period around August 22, 2026, stood at $2.24 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 16% of the token's total market value

Zcash protocol technical features

• ▪Zcash experienced a sharp sell-off in June 2026 after a vulnerability was discovered in its Orchard shielded pool, which is the network component that holds private transactions
• ▪Zcash is a privacy-focused digital asset created in 2016 that is built on Bitcoin's design, inheriting its 21 million supply cap, proof-of-work mining, and halving schedule

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