Grayscale launches first US Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca

Aug 24, 2026

Grayscale has launched the first U.S. privacy-coin ETF, trading under the ticker ZCSH on NYSE Arca. Spun out of a $313.5 million trust, the fund offers spot Zcash exposure through traditional brokerage accounts. The launch follows a major price rally where Zcash hit an eight-year high of $880, fueled by a surge in perpetual-futures open interest to $1.8 billion. This milestone comes shortly after Zcash developers successfully deployed the Ironwood upgrade to patch a critical counterfeiting vulnerability.

Grayscale Zcash ETF launch

▪The Grayscale Zcash ETF was converted from the Grayscale Zcash Trust, which began as a private placement in October 2017 and held over $313.5 million in assets under management prior to the conversion.
▪Grayscale's Zcash ETF began trading on NYSE Arca on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, under the ticker symbol ZCSH, becoming the first U.S. exchange-traded product focused on a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency.
▪The Grayscale Zcash ETF prospectus states that the fund is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning investors do not receive the same protections as shareholders in registered mutual funds.

Zcash price rally dynamics

▪Cypherpunk Technologies disclosed holding 323,394.38 Zcash as of August 11, 2026, representing approximately 1.92% of the circulating supply, purchased at an average price of $341.83.
▪Zcash reached an eight-year high of $880 on August 23, 2026, before declining to $784 by Wednesday morning, August 26, 2026.

Perpetual futures leverage activity

▪Zcash perpetual-futures open interest rose from $962.5 million on August 19, 2026, to nearly $1.8 billion on Monday, August 24, 2026, alongside a daily futures volume of $5.3 billion.
▪Average funding rates for Zcash futures reached 0.0106% on major exchanges, including 0.0100% on Binance and OKX and 0.0180% on Bybit, indicating leveraged traders paid higher costs to maintain long positions.

Institutional privacy coin demand

▪Digital Currency Group disclosed in an amended regulatory filing that it is in non-binding talks to acquire approximately 200,000 Zcash tokens.
▪The August 2026 CoinShares fund manager survey of 30 participants controlling $1.16 trillion showed digital asset allocations rising to 1.2% of portfolios, with respondents specifically naming Zcash as an asset of interest.

Ironwood vulnerability patch disclosure

▪Zcash activated the Ironwood upgrade on July 28, 2026, at block 3,428,143, replacing the Orchard pool with a new shielded pool that prevents more Zcash from leaving the retired pool than entered it.
▪In late May 2026, security researcher Taylor Hornby discovered a critical vulnerability in Zcash's Orchard shielded pool that could have allowed an attacker to create counterfeit Zcash.

Bitcoin market momentum stall

▪Bitcoin reached a high of $79,999.99 on Coinbase on Monday, August 24, 2026, coming within one cent of $80,000 before stalling and trading at $78,995 later that day.
▪U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $307.5 million in net inflows on Friday, August 21, 2026, completing a five-day streak of inflows totaling $1.92 billion.