Zcash traded above $800 on an intraday spike Friday, up 40% for the week, as Grayscale filed a fifth amendment to convert its Zcash Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund.
The price action pushed ZEC above its January 2018 previous peak of $876, a level the privacy-focused cryptocurrency had not reached since 2016. Grayscale's filing, submitted August 21, represents the firm's latest step toward SEC approval of a spot product after years of rejected applications and administrative delays on bitcoin and ethereum spot ETFs.
Zcash futures volume hit $4.55 billion across the measurement period of August 19 to 22, according to trading data. The token's weekly gain of 40% marked one of the largest moves in its trading history, drawing retail and institutional attention to a top-15 cryptocurrency by market capitalization that had largely sat on the sidelines during the 2024 and 2025 bull runs.
Grayscale's push for a Zcash spot ETF follows its successful conversions of bitcoin and ethereum trusts into SEC-approved spot products. The firm has held Zcash positions in its trust vehicle since 2016 but had not previously sought to offer a publicly traded spot fund. A spot ETF would allow institutional investors to gain direct exposure to ZEC without custody or futures contracts, a structure that has driven inflows into Grayscale's bitcoin and ethereum products since their approval.
The SEC's treatment of privacy coins under anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance frameworks remains an open question. Grayscale did not respond to requests for comment on the regulatory pathway it expects for a Zcash spot ETF or the timeline for SEC review.
Zcash's price movement this week is among its sharpest in four years, and the token's gain from the start of the year to its current level is roughly 1,700 percent. Grayscale's filing and the resultant price action have brought Zcash back into focus for market participants tracking privacy-centric assets and alternative stores of value.
The number that decides next steps is whether the SEC issues a comment period on Grayscale's fifth amendment within 45 days of the August 21 filing, as required by standard procedure for such applications.
