# Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZEC)

Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZEC) is an Asset Manager based in Stamford, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Stamford, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Stamford, CT, United States
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** grayscale.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Grayscale launched the Zcash Trust in 2018, one of several single-asset funds under its Digital Asset Trust umbrella. The trust offers shares that trade over the counter, with each share representing a fractional interest in the underlying ZEC. Grayscale Investments, majority-owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG), manages the trust's operations. Zcash employs zk-SNARKs — a form of zero-knowledge proof — to enable shielded transactions, a feature that differentiates it from transparent blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which Grayscale also sponsors (per the firm's literature). The trust operates as a passive vehicle: it does not stake, lend, or otherwise deploy the underlying ZEC. The trust periodically pays sponsor fees, currently 2.5% per annum of the fund's net asset value, deducted in ZEC. These expenses reduce the per-share net asset value over time, a dynamic shared across Grayscale's single-asset trusts. Investors buy and sell shares on the secondary market; the trust does not currently offer direct creation or redemption windows. Zcash's privacy features have drawn regulatory scrutiny, including delisting threats from some exchanges and signaling from the U.S. Treasury regarding potential sanctions evasion risks (per The Block, 2022–2024). This regulatory uncertainty weighed on ZCC adoption relative to other privacy coins. The trust's OTC listing provides a regulated wrapper, but liquidity has been thin compared to Grayscale's Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts. Grayscale Zcash Trust is structurally identical to Grayscale's other single-asset vehicles — a passive, grantor trust structure with no active management. Its core differentiator is the underlying asset: Zcash's privacy technology. For institutional allocators seeking exposure to privacy-blockchain thesis, the trust remains one of the few SEC-reporting vehicles available, though regulatory tail risk shadows its long-term viability.

## Sectors

- Digital Assets
- Cryptocurrency

## People

- Michael Sonnenshein — CEO, Grayscale Investments
- Zach Pandl — Head of Research, Grayscale Investments

## Questions

### Can the trust create or redeem shares directly?

Not currently. Grayscale does not offer continuous creation or redemption windows for its Zcash trust. Secondary market trading determines share price. This contrasts with some of its Bitcoin or Ethereum trusts, which have in-kind creation/redemption programs after regulatory approvals.

### How does the fee structure affect returns over time?

The 2.5% annual sponsor fee is deducted from the trust's ZEC holdings, reducing net asset value daily. Over a long holding period, this fee compounds, meaning the trust's performance will lag ZEC's spot price by roughly the fee percentage each year, absent any premium/discount dynamics.

### Who is the custodian for the trust's ZEC holdings?

Grayscale's trust assets are custodied by Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC, a qualified custodian for digital assets. Coinbase holds the underlying ZEC in cold storage, with periodic audits. Custody arrangements are standard across Grayscale's product suite.

### Is the trust a registered investment company?

No. The trust is structured as a grantor trust (not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940). It files periodic public reports with the SEC as reporting issuer. This structure limits regulatory requirements but also means no active management or risk oversight beyond custody.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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