Grayscale began on Tuesday (25) the trading of The Zcash ETF (ZCSH) on NYSE Arca, expanding investors' access to ZEC through traditional brokerage accounts. The asset manager states that the product is the first ETP in the world with spot exposure to Zcash.
ZCSH allows tracking exposure to ZEC without the investor needing to buy the cryptocurrency directly or manage wallets and private keys. Grayscale notes, however, that the purchase of fund shares does not represent a direct investment in ZEC.
The product traded on NYSE Arca follows an investment vehicle launched by Grayscale as a private placement in October 2017, created to offer exposure to the digital asset.
Despite the name The Zcash ETF, the structure is classified as an ETP (exchange-traded product) and is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Therefore, it is not subject to the same rules and protections applied to ETFs and mutual funds registered under that legislation.
Zcash bets on optional privacy
Created in 2016, Zcash combines features similar to those of Bitcoin, such as a cap of 21 million coins and a Proof of Work consensus mechanism, with optional privacy features.
The network allows transparent or shielded transactions. In the private mode, information such as sender, recipient and amount can be hidden, while viewing keys allow certain data to be selectively revealed to auditors, regulators or other authorized parties.
Steve Vanourny, head of indices at Grayscale, said that the expansion of financial activity monitoring with artificial intelligence could increase demand for privacy. According to the executive, ZCSH seeks to offer access to Zcash in an investment structure already known to the traditional market.
The network has undergone different upgrades in recent years, including Sapling, Orchard, NU5 and Ironwood. The most recent, Ironwood, was implemented in July 2026 and is part of the efforts to improve shielded transactions and the resilience of the Zcash infrastructure.
