Grayscale's Zcash ETF begins trading with $303 million in assets
ZCSH began trading on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25, turning Grayscale's earlier filing into a live brokerage-access product with $303.3 million in reported assets as of Aug. 26.
By The Third AnglePublished Updated 3 min read
Illustrative digital-network imagery; it does not depict Grayscale, DCG or a Zcash filing. Photo: Unsplash · Unsplash License
Grayscale's fourth amendment to the registration statement for its Zcash Trust sets out a proposed path to an exchange-traded fund and says a Digital Currency Group subsidiary is considering contributing about 200,000 ZEC to the vehicle. The filing was made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 18.
The Block's report first identified the amendment and the potential contribution. The SEC filing says DCG International Investments Ltd., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of DCG, is in discussions to acquire shares through an authorized participant in exchange for approximately 200,000 ZEC.
A fifth amendment filed with the SEC on Aug. 21 says the trust would be renamed The Zcash ETF, lists a 2.5% annual sponsor fee and proposes the NYSE Arca ticker ZCSH. The filing names Bank of New York Mellon as transfer agent and Coinbase Custody as custodian. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote that the trust looked "closer and closer" to conversion, but the filing remains preliminary and says the SEC has not approved or disapproved the securities.
Zcash's market reaction added a new data point on Aug. 22. Binance's 24-hour ZEC-USDT ticker showed a high of $857.63 and a last price of $791.11 at the time of checking, with the pair up 19.974%. OKX listed an all-time high of $859.06 for the day. The move shows that the filing is affecting market attention; it does not show that the ETF has been approved, that DCG will make the proposed contribution or that the filing caused the entire price move.
The latest market report adds scale to that reaction: ZEC briefly reached about $855, its highest level since 2018, while CoinGlass data cited in the report put 24-hour futures volume near $9.54 billion and open interest at about $1.76 billion. The report tied the move to the ETF push, but the fifth SEC amendment still does not establish approval or a completed listing.
A separate Bitcoin.com market report published Aug. 22 said ZEC had risen 47.1% over 24 hours to about $836 before retreating toward $810, while bitcoin cash and several other major altcoins also posted double-digit gains. CoinMarketCap's live page, checked at the time of this update, showed ZEC at $803.64 and up 9.36% over 24 hours, so the move had cooled from the earlier snapshot. That confirms a large, fast repricing; it does not prove the ETF filing caused the whole rally.
A newer Decrypt report published Aug. 24 adds another market snapshot: ZEC briefly reached about $888, its highest level since 2018, before pulling back toward $843. Decrypt reported that perpetual-futures open interest rose from $962.5 million on Aug. 19 to $1.8 billion, with $5.3 billion in 24-hour volume, citing Loris Tools. The updated figures show that leverage and price volatility remained elevated; they still do not establish that the ETF filing caused the entire move or that the proposed fund has been approved.
The contribution is not committed
The prospectus makes the key limitation explicit: the discussions are “not binding agreements or commitments to purchase”. The potential investor could acquire more, fewer or no shares, so the filing does not establish that DCG will buy the stated amount of ZEC or that the transaction will close.
The filing also says the trust intends to list the shares on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH after the registration statement becomes effective. It states that the SEC has not approved or disapproved the securities and that the preliminary prospectus is subject to completion.
What the filing changes
The proposed listing has now moved into trading. Decrypt reported on Aug. 25 that Grayscale's Zcash fund began trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH, turning the earlier filing and conversion plan into a live brokerage-access product. The report does not establish assets, volume or the size of any DCG contribution.
The trust holds ZEC and gives investors exposure to the asset through shares rather than direct ownership of the cryptocurrency. The prospectus says the trust expects to use creations and redemptions to help keep the share price aligned with the value of its ZEC holdings, less expenses.
The fund's official product site reported $303.29 million in assets, 4,829,300 shares outstanding and 387,849.2649 ZEC held as of Aug. 26. It also reported 228,933 shares of daily volume on Aug. 25, the first trading day. Those are sponsor-reported operating figures, not evidence that the fund has sustained demand or that the proposed DCG contribution closed.
The document also discusses the June Orchard vulnerability and the subsequent Ironwood upgrade, which retired the affected shielded pool and added safeguards against counterfeit ZEC. The listing is a completed access change, but it does not establish that the potential contribution will close or that the product has attracted meaningful demand.
