Zcash ETF: Grayscale Files With SEC to Convert Its ZEC Trust

What Is Grayscale Planning With Its Zcash Trust?

Grayscale Investments has taken another step in expanding its lineup of cryptocurrency platform-traded products, filing a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and platform Commission to convert its Grayscale Zcash Trust into an ETF. If approved, it would become the first platform-traded fund focused on Zcash, giving the privacy-focused asset a regulated investment wrapper for the first time.

According to the filing, the fund aims for the value of its shares to reflect the underlying price of Zcash (ZEC), based on an index tracked by the Trust, minus fees and liabilities. The current trust holds more than 196 million dollars in , making it the largest institutional vehicle tied to ZEC today.

Zcash, introduced in 2016 by the Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, is the twenty-third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It is known for offering shielded transactions that allow users to protect financial privacy while maintaining public-chain verifiability. The token occupies a unique category in digital assets: a privacy coin with academic roots, strong cryptographic underpinnings and ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

In a post on X, Grayscale said ZEC plays an increasingly significant role in the . “As privacy becomes foundational across crypto, we view ZEC as a key contributor to a well-balanced portfolio,” the firm wrote.

Investor Takeaway

Why Is Grayscale Converting More Crypto Trusts Into ETFs?

The Zcash filing comes as Grayscale accelerates the conversion of several long-standing closed-end trusts into platform-traded funds. Over the past month, the company has successfully converted vehicles tied to XRP, Dogecoin and Solana, continuing a process that began later than its court victory against the SEC led to the approval of its .

These conversions represent a larger pivot in Grayscale’s strategy: moving from illiquid, premium-discount prone trust products toward regulated, platform-traded structures with tighter price tracking and greater investor accessibility.

The shift is also supported by the broader regulatory environment. Under the Trump administration, the SEC has moved into a more permissive posture toward crypto ETF products, allowing issuers to expand both asset coverage and product design. The agency has worked on clarifying classification issues, making it easier for ETF issuers to build rule-compliant filings around assets beyond .

For Grayscale, the opportunity is clear: convert legacy trust vehicles, eliminate structural inefficiencies and widen distribution through mainstream platforms.

Why Zcash, and Why Now?

Zcash is unlike the other assets Grayscale recently converted. XRP, DOGE and SOL are widely traded Layer-1 or payments tokens with large retail user bases. ZEC is a privacy coin — a category that has faced tighter scrutiny from platforms and regulators, especially in Europe and Asia.

However, several trends make this moment favorable for bringing Zcash into a regulated ETF ecosystem:

• Institutional interest in privacy tech is rising. Financial institutions exploring on-chain settlement increasingly view privacy-preserving tools as essential infrastructure.
• Regulation is shifting toward oversight, not prohibition. Many jurisdictions are adopting frameworks that supervise privacy coins rather than banning them outright.
• ETF structures provide clarity. A regulated wrapper removes custody complexity and may satisfy compliance teams wary of holding privacy assets directly.

ZEC’s brand identity — academically built, cryptographically transparent and open-source — may position it more favorably than other privacy coins in regulatory reviews.

Investor Takeaway

What Comes Next for the ETF Approval Process?

The SEC will now review Grayscale’s registration statement, which outlines the Trust’s structure, index methodology, custody setup and intended ETF operations. Approval timelines can vary, but Grayscale’s recent trust-to-ETF conversions suggest the regulator is increasingly open to crypto products beyond the largest market-cap assets.

A Zcash ETF could broaden the range of specialist crypto exposures available to institutional allocators, especially those building diversified digital-asset portfolios across smart-contract platforms, payments networks and zero-knowledge infrastructure.