Winklevoss prices its Zcash ETF at a tenth of Grayscale's 2.5% fee
Winklevoss Asset Services filed for a spot Zcash ETF with a 0.25% sponsor fee, a tenth of the 2.50% Grayscale charges on its $751 million fund. Grayscale's recent withdrawals came before the filing and tracked a 21% fall in ZEC, so the fee gap has not yet been tested.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- WINK would hold ZEC directly in Gemini custody, and authorized participants would create and redeem shares in cash that the fund uses to buy the token.
- Grayscale's ZCSH lost $93.56 million in the week ended Oct. 2, its first negative week since late August, according to SoSoValue data.
- Winklevoss Capital Fund has signaled a non-binding interest in buying up to $100 million of WINK shares.
- Cypherpunk Technologies, a Winklevoss-backed Zcash treasury company, would advise the trust on protocol matters and coinholder voting.
Why it matters
- What it costs cost If Grayscale matched 0.25%, the fee income it directs to Zcash ecosystem development would shrink by about 90%, so Zcash developers would bear part of the cost of a fee war.
- Who's exposed exposure A WINK holder would depend on Winklevoss-linked firms for both custody and voting advice, so trouble at Gemini or Cypherpunk would reach the fund at two separate points.
- What's now possible capability Because the fund does all the ZEC buying, dealers unwilling to hold a privacy coin on their own books could still create and redeem WINK shares.
- What it sets up precedent WINK would be the third regulated Zcash wrapper after ZCSH and 21Shares' European ETP, so any later filer will have to price against 0.25%.
Next story · Invest · Oct 3
Grayscale's Zcash ETF would erase its net inflows within eight trading days at late-September redemption ratesConfirmed3 publishers
At the 2.50% management fee crypto.news reported when Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust in August [6], ZCSH's roughly $751 million of net assets [26] earns Grayscale about $18.8 million a year [18]. The same assets at the 0.25% sponsor fee Decrypt reported for WINK [2] would earn about $1.9 million [19]. Matching the lower rate would cost Grayscale about $16.9 million a year at current assets [20].
Grayscale's withdrawals so far say little about fee competition. The negative week ended Oct. 2 [15], four days before Winklevoss Asset Services filed its S-1 [1]. Over roughly the same stretch, ZEC closed at $1,653.12 on Sep. 26 and $1,304.32 on Oct. 3, according to CoinGecko prices cited by crypto.news [10]. That is a fall of about 21% [21]. Sep. 30 and Oct. 2 alone accounted for $57.18 million, about 61% of the week's outflow [24].
Zcash buyers have also shown little sensitivity to fees. ZCSH still shows about $212.56 million of cumulative net inflows while charging 2.50% [26][6]. Its assets rose from about $304 million at the Aug. 25 launch [9] to $751 million. Roughly $234 million of that increase came from something other than new money, mostly the token's price [27]. In the week to Oct. 3 the coin moved more than nine times the 2.25-point annual fee gap between the two funds [22]. Decrypt puts its gain over the past year at more than 2,000% [25].
The stranger terms are on the sponsor's side of the filing. Gemini, the twins' exchange, would keep the coins in cold storage [8]. Winklevoss Capital Fund's interest, if taken up in full, would equal about 13% of ZCSH's current assets, slightly more than ZCSH lost in the week ended Oct. 2 [23]. Cypherpunk, the trust's governance adviser, bought a Bitmain mining fleet from Winklevoss Capital affiliates in August for $33.33 million. It said at the time that the machines ran about 18% of Zcash's network computing power [14].
I think the lower fee threatens Grayscale's income before it threatens Grayscale's assets. A holder who paid 2.50% through a 2,000% rally has little reason to switch over 2.25 points while the coin moves 21% in a week. The view is wrong if, once WINK lists, ZCSH loses assets in weeks when ZEC is flat or rising. A second outcome is that Grayscale cuts its fee first, keeping its holders on a smaller income. The third is that the coin itself makes the fee question moot. The Winklevoss filing flags that risk in the Orchard soundness bug, which briefly sent ZEC down about 50% this year before the Ironwood upgrade patched it [12].
What to watch
- An amended S-1 that turns Winklevoss Capital Fund's $100 million interest into a binding purchase, or drops it.
- Developers' Oct. 20 decision on whether NU7 activates on Zcash mainnet in November, a protocol change holders of both funds would carry.
- SEC clearance of the WINK S-1, the step that decides when a 0.25% Zcash fund can actually take money.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
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- [1]
Winklevoss Asset Services filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on Oct. 6 for a spot Zcash ETF to list on Nasdaq under the ticker WINK.
- [2]
The Winklevoss Zcash ETF would carry a 0.25% sponsor fee.
- [3]
Under the proposal, WINK would hold ZEC directly; authorized participants would deliver cash to create shares and receive cash on redemption, the fund would buy ZEC with the cash contributed, and participants would not be required to transfer or accept ZEC.
- [4]
Winklevoss Capital Fund has indicated an interest in buying up to $100 million of shares in the offering; the filing notes this is a non-binding commitment.
- [5]
The trust named Cypherpunk Technologies, the Winklevoss-backed Zcash treasury company, as its 'Zcash Ecosystem Partner' to advise on protocol matters and coinholder voting.
- [6]
Grayscale's Zcash ETF charges a 2.50% management fee, with the proceeds directed toward Zcash ecosystem development, according to crypto.news's August coverage.
- [7]
The proposal remains subject to SEC clearance, and the Oct. 6 registration does not establish a trading launch date.
- [8]
Gemini, the Winklevoss twins' crypto exchange, would serve as custodian, holding the trust's ZEC in cold storage.
- [9]
Grayscale converted its nine-year-old Zcash Trust into an ETF on NYSE Arca on Aug. 25 under the ticker ZCSH, with assets of approximately $304 million at launch and Coinbase as custodian.
- [10]
ZEC closed at $1,653.12 on Sep. 26 and $1,304.32 on Oct. 3, according to CoinGecko historical prices.
- [11]
21Shares listed Europe's first Zcash exchange-traded product.
- [12]
The filing flags the soundness bug found this year in Zcash's Orchard shielded pool, which briefly sent ZEC down roughly 50% before the network patched it with the Ironwood upgrade.
- [13]
WINK's 0.25% sponsor fee is one tenth of Grayscale's 2.50% management fee.
- [14]
Cypherpunk Technologies acquired a Bitmain Z15 Pro mining fleet and hosting agreements from entities affiliated with Winklevoss Capital in a transaction valued at $33.33 million, reported Aug. 18; the company said the fleet represented roughly 18% of Zcash's network computing power at the time.
- [15]
Grayscale's Zcash ETF recorded $93.56 million in withdrawals in the week ended Oct. 2, its first negative week since late August, according to SoSoValue data.
- [16]
Daily net outflows from the Grayscale Zcash ETF reached $30.25 million on Sep. 30 and $26.93 million on Oct. 2.
- [17]
Zcash developers have scheduled an Oct. 20 decision on NU7's proposed November mainnet activation.
- [18]
At 2.50% on about $751 million of net assets, ZCSH generates about $18.8 million a year in fees.
- [19]
The same $751 million at a 0.25% fee would generate about $1.9 million a year.
- [20]
Matching a 0.25% fee would reduce Grayscale's annual fee income on current assets by about $16.9 million.
- [21]
ZEC fell about 21% between its Sep. 26 and Oct. 3 closes.
- [22]
ZEC's roughly 21% one-week move was more than nine times the 2.25-percentage-point annual fee gap between the two funds.
- [23]
A $100 million Winklevoss Capital Fund purchase would equal about 13% of ZCSH's net assets and slightly exceed ZCSH's $93.56 million outflow in the week ended Oct. 2.
- [24]
Outflows on Sep. 30 and Oct. 2 totalled $57.18 million, about 61% of the week's $93.56 million.
- [25]
ZEC has surged over 2,000% in the last year.
- [26]
The Grayscale Zcash ETF's total net assets stood at approximately $751 million, with cumulative net inflows of about $212.56 million.
- [27]
Of ZCSH's roughly $447 million asset increase since launch, about $234 million is not explained by cumulative net inflows.
Sources
7 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comWinklevoss-backed Zcash ETF files with SEC for Nasdaq listing
1 article · October 6, 2026
- crowdfundinsider.comWinklevoss Group Files for Spot Zcash ETF, Suggesting WINK Ticker Symbol
1 article · October 8, 2026
- crypto.newsWinklevoss files for spot Zcash ETF as ZEC price climbs above $1,376
2 articles · October 6, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comWinklevoss files for spot Zcash ETF with US SEC
1 article · October 6, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comZcash ETF fee war: Winklevoss undercuts Grayscale with ETF filing
1 article · October 6, 2026
- decrypt.coAnother Zcash ETF Is Coming: Winklevoss Twins File for 'WINK'
1 article · October 6, 2026
- news.bitcoin.comWinklevoss Twins File for Zcash ETF With $100M Launch Interest
1 article · October 6, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Tyler Winklevoss
- Grayscale
- Grayscale Zcash ETF
- Zcash
- Winklevoss Asset Services
- Cameron Winklevoss
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- 21Shares
- Winklevoss Zcash ETF
- Gemini
- Winklevoss Capital
- Cypherpunk Technologies